Department for Transport

Railways: Fares

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) passenger numbers and (b) revenue as a result of the 3.8 per cent rise in rail fare prices, implemented on 1 March 2022.

Wendy Morton: The Department uses recommendations from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the relationship between changes to fares and demand and revenues. There are a number of factors which impact revenues, including most notably at the moment the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel. Whilst the change will affect each passenger slightly differently, we have a number of railcards in place that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 ‘millennial’ railcard and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard. We have protected passengers by delaying these fare rises by two months and, even then, opting for a figure well below current inflation rates.

Railways: Operating Costs

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the letter sent to him by the TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes, dated 14 January 2022, if it is the policy of his Department to seek £2 billion reduction in the operating costs of the railways.

Wendy Morton: As a result of reducing passenger numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020-21, Train Operating Companies across the UK received an overall subsidy of £10.1bn from Government, an 832% increase on 2019-20. This ensured the rail industry continued to deliver services to the public during this difficult period, with no job losses or furloughing of the workforce. Overall, from the start of the pandemic to the end of this financial year, Government has committed to more than £14bn of funding for passenger services for the train operating companies for which it is responsible. The continued use of significant taxpayer money to support the rail industry is not sustainable in the long term and the industry has a responsibility to consider how it manages its operating costs.

Railway Stations

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he had on towards providing level boarding on the rail network.

Wendy Morton: Whilst all new rolling stock must comply with modern accessibility standards, it is up to the train operators to work with the manufacturers and Rolling Stock Companies to procure trains which meet the needs of all passengers and the infrastructure it utilises. Operators must make the decision whether to use built-in ramps or other accessibility systems.

Cycling: Finance

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the level of financial support available to local authorities to install new cycling infrastructure.

Trudy Harrison: There is an unprecedented £2 billion of investment in cycling and walking over the rest of this Parliament. Ministers and officials from this Department have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other Government Departments to ensure that their programmes are fully aligned with the Government’s cycling and walking aims. The Government will continue to make funding available to local transport authorities through a wide range of funding streams, including some administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Dover Port: Large Goods Vehicles

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to reduce queues of HGVs at Dover.

Trudy Harrison: We continue to work closely with Port of Dover and National Highways to understand common causes of delays and seek robust mitigations to reduce them. Port of Dover operates a turn up and go service. There is a well-established Traffic Access Protocol which is operated by Port of Dover and National Highways and this manages any queue which enables HGVs to be held on one lane of the A20, allowing all other traffic to flow freely. National Highways monitor the queue lengths and work with the Port of Dover to actively reduce them.

Railways: Land

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what surplus land owned by the railway estate has his Department identified as suitable for sale and development; and what steps he is taking to expedite that process.

Wendy Morton: DfT and its delivery bodies remain committed to identifying and disposing land for housing and to support other government objectives. DfT’s Arms-Length Bodies that have sizeable estates have professional surveyors who oversee and facilitate the disposals. Network Rail disposed of land for over 9,000 homes as part of the Public Sector Land Programme between April 2015 and March 2020. Since the completion of that programme, they have continued to identify surplus land and maintain a disposals pipeline. Between April 2020 to January 2022, Network Rail have disposed land for a further 1180 homes.

Taxis: Disability

Jacob Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what legal protections and enforcement mechanisms are in place to help protect disabled passengers from experiencing discrimination when using licenced taxi cabs.

Trudy Harrison: Wheelchair users travelling in taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) designated as being wheelchair accessible and assistance dog owners travelling in any taxi or PHV are protected from discriminatory treatment by Sections 165, 168 and 170 of the Equality Act 2010, which prevent non-exempt drivers from refusing them carriage or charging them more than other passengers.Local taxi and PHV licensing authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases referred to them, and convicted drivers face fines of up to £1,000.However, the Government recognises that the law is inconsistent in its application, and is supporting the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Bill introduced by Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC MP, which seeks to extend the existing protections to any disabled person when travelling by any taxi or PHV.

Electric Scooters

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timeframe is for (a) evaluating e-scooter trials and (b) deciding whether to bring forward provisions to permit the use of privately owned scooters.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts and has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme. A full set of findings on rental e-scooters from this evaluation will be included in the final report due later in 2022. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible. Until we have that evidence we cannot commit to a legislative timetable.

Trains: Procurement

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Intercity 225 fleets and other high speed passenger rolling stock fleets have been displaced as a result of the Intercity Express Programme; and which of those fleets are available for continued and future use.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to encourage new and existing open access rail services to examine the future potential use of long distance high speed passenger rolling stock which has been displaced as a result of the Intercity Express Programme.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether long distance high speed passenger rolling stock has been displaced as a result of (a) the Intercity Express Programme and (b) steps taken to encourage more services and competition for passengers across the long distance railway passenger market.

Wendy Morton: The rolling stock that was replaced by operators as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) is privately owned by a number of rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs) and was returned to them by operators when the new IEP trains were introduced. It is a matter for the ROSCOs and any future operator to determine the ability of such rolling stock to deliver potential future services.

Railways: Coronavirus

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial support his Department has provided to the railways sector for the continuance of rail services since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak.

Wendy Morton: From the start of the pandemic to the end of this financial year, Government has committed to more than £14bn of funding for passenger services.

Highway Code: Publicity

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what budget his Department has allocated to publicising changes to the Highway Code implemented in January 2022; and what proportion of that budget has been spent to date.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport has allocated and will spend over £500,000 raising awareness of the changes to The Highway Code this financial year.The campaign includes radio and social media advertising. Additional media investment has also been provided by Transport for London and Transport Scotland to amplify the campaign in those areas.Further communications are planned later in the year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel, to help embed the changes and encourage uptake of the new guidance. The Department for Transport has allocated over £1 million to support this activity in the next financial year. However, this funding remains subject to the Cabinet Office professional approval process.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Training

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 92981 on Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Training, what progress his Department has been made on the urgent review of the Driver Certificates of Professional Competence (DCPC) scheme; and on what date additional information will be provided to the road haulage industry on that review.

Trudy Harrison: The review of the Driver Certification of Professional Competence (DCPC) has now been completed, with the report and associated recommendations expected to be published soon.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Global Britain Investment Fund: Drugs

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Global Britain Investment Fund will open for investment for new medicines manufacturing; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the fund supports innovative, smaller biotechnology companies.

George Freeman: The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) was announced on 2 March 2022. This £60 million capital grant scheme welcomes applications from SMEs with innovative proposals, including biotechnology companies.The UK has one of the strongest life sciences industries globally. In 2020, the value of life sciences inward FDI totalled £900m, ranking second only to the US in the number of projects. The UK also performs well in R&D spend, securing £4.8bn by UK pharmaceuticals in 2019 and 18% of our total industrial R&D spend. The new £1.4bn Global Britain Investment Fund (GBIF) will build on the strengthens of this sector by providing £354 million in grant support for UK life sciences manufacturing. This will ensure internationally mobile companies invest in cutting edge, innovative manufacturing projects right here in the UK.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment has he made of the adequacy of financial support available to people facing increased costs of heating oil.

Greg Hands: The supply of heating oil is subject to UK competition law and consumer protection through a regulatory scheme under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If residents are off the gas grid, but on a default tariff for their electricity supply, they will still be protected by the Energy Price Cap which continues to protect 15 million households. In the longer term, improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings is vital to keeping household energy costs down and reducing carbon emissions, which is why the Government is driving £6 billion into making homes more energy efficient over the next ten years.

Energy: Standing Charges

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact on energy consumers of the increase in the daily standing charge on bills imposed by (a) E-ON and (b) other energy suppliers.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the purpose of the daily standing charge on energy bills; and if he will make an assessment of the recent increases in those charges by (a) E-ON and (b) other energy suppliers..

Greg Hands: The standing charge is a daily flat rate that E.ON and other suppliers charge their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply regardless of how much energy they use. It includes charges from network companies for using pipes and power lines to carry gas and electricity supplies, the maintenance and installation of meters, billing and accounting. A small proportion of the standing charge also goes towards Government initiatives that help vulnerable households and reduce carbon emissions. Ofgem requires energy suppliers to separate out the standing charge from a tariff’s energy unit rate so consumers can see what the different charges amount to. For millions of households the level of standing charge is protected by the energy price cap rate set by Ofgem. While the setting of tariffs is a commercial matter for individual supply companies, the energy unit rate and the standing charge together for a supplier’s default and standard variable tariffs must not exceed the level of the price cap. For consumers looking for a new fixed deal for their energy, suppliers can offer a range of tariffs including some with a low or even a zero standing charge and a higher energy unit rate to attract low energy users.

Overseas Trade: Russia

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial support packages for small and medium sized companies who (a) choose to stop trading with Russia or (b) have to stop trading to comply with sanctions.

Paul Scully: The UK and our international partners have stood united in condemning the Russian Government in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We have imposed an unprecedented package of sanctions to inflict maximum and lasting pain on the Russian Government. The Government is not imposing any legal requirement on companies to go further, and businesses should make their own choices about trade outside of the current sanctions. But as raised by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer in his recent statement, we welcome the commitments already made by firms and investors to divest away from Russia, and we should applaud those who have chosen to take that extra step for the people of Ukraine. Where businesses seek to break contracts with Russian entities, we recommend seeking independent legal advice. The Department for International Trade have expanded its Export Support Service (ESS) to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Russia. Any business that has question about trading with Ukraine or Russia, can visit https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team, or call our helpline using the number 0300 303 8955. The Government is already providing support worth around £21 billion during this year, and next, to help people with the cost of living and we will continue to monitor the economic impact of the conflict.

Energy: Billing

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of energy customers to pay bills in full monthly rather than averaged out in advance.

Greg Hands: Energy customers can pay their bills in full each quarter. However, paying an amount each month by direct debit is often the cheapest and most cost-effective method for both the consumer and the supplier. Any requirement for suppliers to bill and collect payments monthly will add to operating costs which may be passed to consumers.

Post Office: ICT

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of Post Office Ltd. on ensuring that equipment provided by (a) Outreach and (b) Sub-Postmasters is adequate.

Paul Scully: The Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate and asks management to operate commercially at arms-length from Government. BEIS continues to have oversight of the Post Office from a policy perspective and UKGI oversees Post Office’s corporate governance and strategy on behalf of the shareholder. There remains regular dialogue between BEIS, UKGI and Post Office which includes monthly meetings between Post Office and I, as well as formal quarterly shareholder meetings between BEIS, UKGI and Post Office to discuss financial performance and various live issues. Decisions made by Post Office relating to the operation of branches are regularly discussed, and challenged by the Government when appropriate, through these channels.

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Ownership

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have failed to provide a Person of Significant Control.

Paul Scully: I refer the Hon. Member to the reply I gave the Hon. Member for Glasgow Central on 3 March 2022 to Question UIN 131219.

Solar Power: Biodiversity

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) the proposed solar plant at Mallard Pass in Rutland and (b) other large scale solar plants on biodiversity.

Greg Hands: Due to its proposed size (over 50MW), the Mallard Pass Solar Farm will be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State will therefore be the decision-maker for the application for development consent for the Mallard Pass Solar Project. The Government recognises that solar projects can affect the local environment. The developers of all large solar projects must complete an Environmental Impact Assessment Statement as part of their planning application, which will include an assessment of the impacts on biodiversity. Well-designed solar farms have been shown to enhance biodiversity.

Business: Environment Protection and Human Rights

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a failure-to-prevent legal mechanism to help prevent corporate (a) human rights abuses and (b) environmental damage; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Scully: The UK has a strong record on human rights and environmental awareness and protection, much of which results from our framework of legislation. The UK already requires companies to undertake due diligence on sustainability matters under existing legislation on corporate transparency. UK listed companies are required to report on relevant environmental, social and governance aspects in their annual reports. Large businesses are also required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business or through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place. In certain circumstances, companies can already be held liable for breaches of duties of care to others where harm is suffered as a foreseeable consequence of the breach.

Natural Gas: Leasehold

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that residential leasehold properties that get heating and water from communal systems are not treated as commercial users of gas and are therefore covered by Ofgem’s price cap.

Greg Hands: Communal heating systems which purchase gas at commercial rates whilst supplying heating to domestic consumers were previously more cost effective for consumers, as commercial purchase rates tended to be lower than domestic ones. Unfortunately, it does mean that these consumers do sit outside the Ofgem price cap. The Government is committed to ensuring heat network consumers receive a fair price for their heating and has committed to legislating within this Parliament to regulate the heat networks sector. In December, the Government announced that Ofgem will take on the role of regulator. Ofgem will be granted new powers to regulate prices as a matter of priority. Among the new powers granted, Ofgem will be able to investigate and intervene on networks where prices for consumers appear to be disproportionate compared with systems with similar characteristics, or if prices are significantly higher than those consumers would expect to pay if they were served by an alternative heating system.

Energy: Prices

Dame Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking with Ofgem to help support residents with communal heating systems not subject to the energy price cap.

Greg Hands: The Government is aware of the steep increases that some consumers on communal networks are facing. For this reason, the Government is taking action worth more than £9.1billion supporting households through initiatives such as the Energy Bills Rebate, the Household Support Fund, Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. These measures are intended to cover heat network consumers and the government is engaging closely with industry and consumer groups to understand the specific impacts in the heat network sector.In order to further ensure that heat networks consumers continue to receive fair pricing in the future, the Government will appoint Ofgem as the regulator for heat networks on the introduction of market regulation, which the Government aims to introduce in this parliament. Regulation will provide Ofgem with powers to ensure fair pricing across all UK wide heat networks. This will enable equivalent protection for domestic heat network customers as well as ensuring heat network operators are securing good purchasing deals for their consumers. This will mean that consumers are charged a fair rate for heating whilst encouraging further investment in heat networks.

Roads: Freight

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with Ministerial colleagues in the Treasury on the potential merits of making financial support available to the haulage sector affected by rising fuel costs.

Greg Hands: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets with Ministerial colleagues in HM Treasury and discusses a range of issues.

Climate Change Convention: British Overseas Territories

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which British Overseas Territories have been incorporated into the (a) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, (b) Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol and (c) Paris Agreement as of January 2022.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 291441 on Carbon Emissions: British Overseas Territories, whether his Department is continuing to consult British Overseas Territories on their potential incorporation into the Paris Agreement.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the level of annual emissions of British Overseas Territories which remain outside the Paris Agreement.

Greg Hands: The UK ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been extended to the Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands. The UK ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands. As of March 2022, the Paris Agreement has not been extended to any of the Overseas Territories. The Government will continue to engage on extension of the UK ratification of the Paris Agreement with those Overseas Territories that are eligible and that formally request it. BEIS publish National Statistics on UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2020. The latest statistics cover emissions from 1990 to 2020 and include estimates of territorial emissions from UK Overseas Territories who are not party to the Paris Agreement but are party to the UNFCCC.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether Innovate UK has used its powers to participate in Board meetings of VMIC UK Ltd, including where any sale has been discussed.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the proceeds of any sale of VMIC UK Ltd, whether asset sale or share sale, would be allocated; and what the Government's return would be on any potential sale.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the consistency of the potential the sale of Vaccine Manufacture and Innovation Centre UK Ltd (a) assets and (b) members' interests to a pharmaceutical company with that company's non-profit objectives; and whether the Government has contingency plans to exercise control over that company in the event of a pandemic.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any of the potential acquirers the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre are industry p[partners of VMIC UK Ltd.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the Government plans to sell the vaccine manufacturing and Innovation centre; and what the role of (a) VMIC UK Ltd's members and (b) UKRI-Innovate was in that decision.

George Freeman: The Government is not selling the VMIC facility. VMIC UK Ltd is a private company and has always been a private company. The decision to sell was made by VMIC UK Ltd’s Board of Directors. UKRI-Innovate UK and the Vaccine Taskforce are communicating with VMIC to help ensure the UK has a strong onshore vaccine ecosystem. Innovate UK has exercised its right to be an observer on the VMIC Board of Directors since the inception of VMIC. Innovate UK has been a board observer when the sale of the facility has been discussed. The Vaccine Taskforce is in contact with VMIC UK Ltd’s Board of Directors following their decision to pursue a sale. Decisions regarding how best to pursue the company’s objectives are made by VMIC UK Ltd’s Board of Directors and executive team. The Government will continue to support the UK’s domestic vaccine manufacturing, vaccine innovation and health emergency response capability. Details on any potential acquirers of VMIC UK Ltd or any potential return to Government are commercially sensitive.

Attorney General

Crown Court: Trials

James Wild: To ask the Attorney General, how many cases at Crown Courts have been discontinued in the last 12 months as a result of the lack of a prosecuting barrister.

Alex Chalk: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of cases dropped/discontinued at the Crown Court due to the lack of a prosecuting barrister. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Vacancies

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to obtain additional resources to urgently tackle workforce shortages within the NHS.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Vacancies

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps his Department is taking to tackle workforce shortages within the NHS in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Blood Cancer: Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to meet the increased demand for blood cancer services as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Blood Cancer: Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the level of funding available to the NHS to tackle waiting lists for blood cancer treatment.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Blood Cancer: Diagnosis

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to reduce the number of blood cancers that are diagnosed via emergency routes.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what transaction fees are incurred on purchases covered by Healthy Start prepaid cards and; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting charitable food providers from those fees.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the outcomes of observational trials of medical cannabis for children with severe epilepsy.

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish details of the proposed randomised control trials for medicinal cannabis.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reviewed the best available evidence when developing its guideline on prescribing of cannabis-based medicinal products. However, NICE found that current research is limited and of low quality. Observational studies with a small number of patients do not produce results which are sufficiently robust to inform routine clinical or commissioning decisions. To develop evidence on medical cannabis, the Department, via the National Institute for Health Research, will be supporting two randomised controlled trials into epilepsy in adults and children. The trials will commence as soon as possible and results will be published once the trials have completed and the findings have been peer reviewed.

Health: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish the report on the written evidence submitted by organisations and individuals with expertise in women’s health to the Call for Evidence for the Women’s Health Strategy that was due in early 2022.

Maria Caulfield: On 23 December 2021, the Government published the results of the Women’s Health Strategy Call for Evidence survey with ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’. We received nearly 100,000 responses from individuals and over 400 written submissions from organisations, researchers, and academics. We aim to publish the analysis of the written submissions in spring.

General Practitioners: Training

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure GPs have the (a) knowledge and (b) resources to adequately diagnose and arrange treatment for rare health conditions.

Maria Caulfield: Increasing awareness of rare diseases among health care professionals is one of the four priorities of the 2021 UK Rare Diseases Framework. England’s Rare Diseases Action Plan was published on 28 February 2022 and includes specific actions to increase knowledge and improve the resources available to health care professionals, including general practitioners, to diagnose and arrange treatment for rare diseases.This includes determining how to include rare diseases in health professional education and training programmes and developing an innovative digital resource, integrated into existing digital platforms or websites to provide easily accessible information on rare diseases. Action plans from the devolved administrations will follow later in 2022.

Health: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish the Women’s Health Strategy.

Maria Caulfield: We aim to publish the Women’s Health Strategy in spring 2022.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the design and development of the My Planned Care website has cost as of 8 March 2022.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many visitors the My Planned Care website has received since its launch.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health: Coronavirus

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on health inequalities in (a) Streatham, (b) London and (c) England.

Maria Caulfield: The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ COVID-19 Health Inequalities Monitoring for England (CHIME) tool collates data relating the impacts of COVID-19 on health inequalities, such as confirmed COVID-19 cases, mortality rates, hospital admissions and vaccinations. The tool also provides estimates of inequality in life expectancy in England. However, data is not available at parliamentary constituency level.Mortality rates from COVID-19 in the most deprived areas have been higher than in the least deprived areas during the pandemic. The CHIME tool shows that inequality in life expectancy for England and London increased for both males and females in 2020. Life expectancy data for 2021 is not yet available. In London and England, COVID-19 as a contributory cause of death had the largest impact on life expectancy in 2020.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome patients are correctly coded by GPs at the point of diagnosis.

Gillian Keegan: The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) is the structured clinical vocabulary for use in an electronic health record. It is a contractual requirement for all National Health Service healthcare providers in England to use SNOMED CT for capturing clinical terms, including diagnoses, within electronic patient record systems. Using SNOMED CT, all content for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome is contained within a single overarching code, with linked codes for mild, moderate and severe forms. These can be used by all NHS healthcare providers, including general practitioners.

Hospitals: Autism

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital admissions there have been in each of the last five years for (a) adults and (b) children with a (i) primary and (ii) secondary diagnosis of autism.

Gillian Keegan: The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of autism for those aged 0 to 17 years old and aged 18 years old and over in each year from 2016/17 to 2020/21. YearAgePrimary diagnosisSecondary diagnosis2016/170 to 17 years old45620,2952016/1718 years old and over16511,9752017/180 to 17 years old46524,0652017/1818 years old and over23014,7662018/190 to 17 years old51329,7902018/1918 years old and over23419,6522019/200 to 17 years old59433,9082019/2018 years old and over24224,1052020/210 to 17 years old37725,4272020/2118 years old and over21523,607 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital. Notes: An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes.Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.Primary and secondary diagnosis of autism: HES data uses the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes on autism: F84.0 - Autism Spectrum Disorder and F84.1 - Atypical Autism.Assessing growth over time: HES figures are available from 1989/1990 onwards. Changes to the figures over time should be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage –such as improvements in coverage of independent sector activity and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so are no longer included in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.HES include activity ending in the year in question from April to March, for example 2012/2013 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to progress the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in diagnosing cancer.

Gillian Keegan: The NHS Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is accelerating the safe, ethical and effective development and use of AI technologies in health and social care, including earlier cancer detection. Through the AI in Health and Care Award, we are currently funding the trial of several technologies which can help with the earlier detection of various forms of cancer including lung, breast and skin cancers. AI is being trialled to support clinicians through the interpretation of images such as mammography and computed tomography scans and make optimal decisions with tools to reduce time to treatment, unnecessary invasive procedures and increase survival rates.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Death

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have died while in inpatient mental health units in each year since 2010.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not held in the format requested. Data showing deaths of people in mental health units who have not been detained, or liable to have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the capital expenditure was on NHS community mental health services in each of the last ten years (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of all NHS capital expenditure.

Gillian Keegan: Capital expenditure on National Health Service mental health and community trusts over the last ten years totals £5,109,000,000. The following table shows the information requested.Financial yearCapital expenditure on NHS mental health and community trusts £ millionProportion of total capital expenditure2011/1237315%2012/1341916%2013/1449516%2014/1551015%2015/1651417%2016/1745116%2017/1833611%2018/1954714%2019/2067415%2020/2179011%

Special Educational Needs: Health Services and Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to increase funding for health and care elements of specialist college provision to reduce the pressure on the high needs budget.

Gillian Keegan: Local authorities will receive an increase of £1 billion in 2022/23, bringing the overall high needs budget to £9.1 billion. This increase takes into account of the range of pressures on local authorities’ high needs budgets, including the number of children and young people with education, health and care plans. This can enable some increase to the high needs funding passed on to specialist colleges, where that is required to meet the cost pressures faced by those colleges.

Shingles: Vaccination

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce Shingrix into the National Immunisation Programme, in line with JCVI recommendations, now that sufficient supply is available.

Maria Caulfield: Shingrix has been offered to individuals with reduced immune response since September 2021, in line with recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The Department is currently working with the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service to develop implementation plans to support the deployment of Shingrix more widely in the shingles programme.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims relating to covid-19 vaccinations have been passed to an independent medical advisor for assessment as of 18 February 2022.

Maria Caulfield: Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) COVID-19 related claims are now being processed and medical records are being requested from claimant’s general practitioners or medical providers. Once these records have been gathered over an average period of six months, they will be passed for independent medical assessment. Since its administration of the VDPS began in November 2021, the NHS Business Services Authority has contacted all claimants to update them on the progress of their cases. As of 18 February 2022, no VDPS claims relating to COVID-19 vaccines had been passed to an independent medical advisor for assessment.

Motor Neurone Disease: ICT

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to introduce digital voice technologies for people with motor neurone disease that help preserve their accent and way of speaking.

Gillian Keegan: National Health Service Augmentative and Alternative Communication services currently offer people with motor neurone disease access to a wide range of communication aids and equipment. They also offer guidance on the ability for people to ‘bank’ their voices through the use of a variety of different services including SpeakUnique, MyOwnVoice, VocaliD and others.

Health and Social Care Levy

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2021 to Question 77467 on the Health and Social Care Levy, under what legislative provision is assessment of the financial impact of the Social Care Levy on (a) private and (b) voluntary sector employers in the social care sector in the UK a devolved matter.

Gillian Keegan: In the previous answer to Question 77467, it was incorrectly stated that the Health and Social Care Levy is devolved, when it is in fact reserved. We have arranged for the record to be corrected through the Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2022 (HCWS647).The Government has made many assessments of the overall impact of the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy, which were published alongside its announcement. These include the distributional analysis of the impact of the combined tax and spending announcements, a technical annex in the Government’s plan for health and social care and a Tax Information and Impact Note.

Coronavirus: Screening

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether covid-19 lateral flow tests will continue to remain free indefinitely for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable or immunocompromised and their friends and families.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, access to free asymptomatic and symptomatic testing for the general public in England will end. We will provide free testing to a number of at risk groups. Further information on eligible groups will be made available in due course.

Higher Education: Coronavirus

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what private sector bodies are involved in the operation of the higher education covid-19 asymptomatic testing programme.

Maggie Throup: Over 200 higher education institutions are involved in the UK Health Security Agency’s asymptomatic testing programme, operating within the Standard Operating Procedures. Due to the diversity of organisations on the programme, there is scope within the Standard Operating Procedures for institutions to engage private sector bodies in the delivery of their testing programmes.

Alcoholism: Rehabilitation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to From harm to hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives published in December 2021, whether the £533 million specified to support local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England includes funding for alcohol treatment services.

Maggie Throup: The commissioning and delivery of drug and alcohol treatment services is almost entirely integrated in England. This funding will be invested in local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England for those seeking treatment for alcohol and drug misuse.

Health: Recreation Spaces

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the benefits of green spaces and gardening to mental and physical health and what policies the Government is pursuing to ensure those benefits can be realised by people without access to green spaces.

Maggie Throup: An evidence review of the health effects of access to greenspace, including gardening was published by Public Health England in 2020. It found evidence that exposure to greenspaces can promote and protect good health and aid in recovery from illness and help with managing poor mental and physical health. The evidence review is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904439/Improving_access_to_greenspace_2020_review.pdf The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan includes specific measures such a cross-Government project on tackling mental ill-health through green social prescribing and a national framework of green infrastructure standards to ensure new developments include accessible green spaces and areas with little or no green space can be improved for the benefit of the community. The Plan is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693158/25-year-environment-plan.pdf

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure all staff in primary care, NHS 111 and NHS 119 know how to refer people at highest risk of becoming seriously ill with covid-19 for access to new covid-19 treatments.

Maggie Throup: People whose immune systems mean they are at higher risk from COVID-19 may be clinically eligible to access oral antivirals directly from COVID Medicine Delivery Units following a positive COVID-19 test. NHS England have written to consultants and specialists, to request that newly eligible patients are provide with a letter to explain how to access treatments. It also wrote to general practitioners and community pharmacies in December 2021 and January 2022, setting out treatment policies and referrals for this patient group. Clinicians have been supported with regular webinars, primary care newsletters and advice from local commissioners. The Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association have also raised awareness among members. NHS 111 received guidance in December with further support through webinars and local commissioners. NHS 119 can order priority polymerase chain reaction test kits for eligible patients. Call handlers have been provided with training and guidance to manage patient requests.

Pre-eclampsia: Mortality Rates

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women have lost their lives due to preeclampsia in the last 12 months.

Maria Caulfield: The most recent data from the MBRRACE report indicates that in the three years from 2017 to 2019, six women in the United Kingdom lost their lives to preeclampsia or eclampsia.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional support to people in vulnerable health groups who may not be confident to go out in public after all covid-19 restrictions and testing are lifted.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to issue specific guidance for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed on how to manage their risk to covid-19 in the Living Safely with Covid strategy.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government plans to take to help ensure that clinically extremely vulnerable people will be protected from covid-19 in the plans to live with covid.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) advice and (b) communications her Department is providing to people who are immunosuppressed following the removal of covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: On 25 February 2022, the Government issued updated public health advice for people who were previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19 For most people, they are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and are advised to follow general guidance on reducing the risk of infection with COVID-19, in addition to any further advice from their doctor. Updated guidance was also issued for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk Enhanced protection is also offered by treatments, additional vaccinations and potentially other non-clinical interventions. The NHS Volunteer Responders programme is available to offer short-term help, such as telephone support or help with collecting shopping, medication and other essential supplies.

Veganism: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of a vegan diet on growth in young children.

Maggie Throup: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) advises the Government on nutrition related matters. The SACN recognises veganism as a protected characteristic and that evidence on this issue should be considered where identified. The SACN is currently reviewing the scientific basis of current recommendations for complementary and young child feeding up to five years of age; part one, ‘Feeding in the first year of life’, was published in 2018. The second part ‘Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years’ is due to be published for public consultation in 2022. The review includes consideration of systematic review evidence identified on dietary factors and growth. A joint SACN/ Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment Working Group was established in autumn 2021 to conduct a benefit and risk analysis on nutritional and toxicological aspects associated with consumption of plant-based drinks in the United Kingdom.

NHS: Universities

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 174 of the Levelling Up White Paper, which NHS-university partnerships will receive the £30 million in additional funding; and what the criteria is for the allocation of that funding.

Maria Caulfield: The open competition for the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) is continuing. The National Health Service and university partnerships which will receive NIHR BRC designation and funding levels will be confirmed in May 2022.An independent international selection committee will review applications received from partnerships and provide assurance to the Department that designated and funded NIHR BRCs demonstrate the capability to meet the aims of the scheme. It will review applications and make recommendations on the basis of the following selection criteria:- the strength of the strategic plan including a clear demonstration of patient and public involvement and plans to deliver improvements in research culture;- existing research capacity and capability and plans for increasing capacity including through the provision of training which supports diverse career paths and promotes equality, diversity and inclusion;- the quality and breadth of world leading experimental medicine and early translational research, with a proven ability to translate findings from discovery research into translational and clinical research to benefit patients and the public, the health and care system and for broader economic gain;- the strength of the strategic partnerships, including those with industry, charities, and other NHS organisations/universities, NIHR-funded research infrastructure and a demonstrable track record of collaborative working;- the contribution of the research portfolio to the health of patients and the public, including a demonstration that research is following patient need and reflects the diversity of the population (including support for research activities being conducted in areas with the greatest disease burden in collaboration with local investigators); and- value for money.

Coronavirus: Disclosure of Information

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will continue to make data available on hospitalisations and mortality from covid-19 after the end of March 2022.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency plans to continue the surveillance of COVID-19 hospitalisations through Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI)-Watch and data will continue to be published in this report after the end of March 2022. Excess mortality estimates will also continue to be collected in this report and in the weekly all-cause mortality report.

Coronavirus: Screening

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's Living with COVID-19 plan, published on 21 February 2022, which states that free testing will be available from 1 April 2022 for a small number of at-risk groups, whether his Department plans to provide financial support to people who wish to purchase covid-19 tests privately but are unable to afford them; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of immunocompromised people of their relatives and friends potentially limiting contact with them after 1 April 2022 as a result of being unable to access free covid-19 tests.

Maggie Throup: Our guidance will make clear that in most circumstances, people will not need to test. The Government will enable COVID-19 tests to be made available for those who wish to purchase them through the private market. We are working with retailers and pharmacies to establish the private market in testing and reducing the cost of private testing to ensure it is affordable.Further details on which at-risk groups will be eligible for tests will be available in due course. We will keep the impact of these COVID-19 policies on people such as those who are immunocompromised under review.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Healthy Start prepaid cards to be used for (a) online and (b) telephone purchases of food items covered by that scheme.

Maggie Throup: All beneficiaries with a prepaid card can use it in all retailers which accept Mastercard payments and sell the permitted Healthy Start food items. There are no current plans to allow the prepaid card to be used online or for telephone purchases.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the manufacture of bedrocan oil in the UK.

Maria Caulfield: The current producer of Bedrocan oils in the Netherlands and the chosen United Kingdom commercial partner are progressing the technology transfer agreement to manufacture three Bedrocan oils - Bedica, Bedrolite and Bedrocan - in the UK. The UK manufacturer has been inspected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Home Office to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals and has agreement in principle to produce herbal medicines of this type following the successful production of Bedrolite oils.The Dutch Government has agreed to allow continued supply of all three Bedrocan oils against UK prescriptions for existing patients for a further three months until 1 July 2022. This should allow for domestic production to be established and approved for all three oils.

Department of Health and Social Care: Diaries

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish in full the Ministerial diary of the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for 20 May 2020.

Edward Argar: Ministers regularly meet with departmental officials and external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.

Health: Regional Planning and Development

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recommendations of The University of Manchester’s Building Utopia publication, whether his Department plans to work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to incorporate social and health outcomes into physical regeneration, including the recently announced Levelling Up Parks Fund.

Maria Caulfield: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to support the development of evaluation plans for the Levelling Up Parks fund, which include health and social outcomes.

Pharmacy: Finance

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has held with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on delivering more sustainable funding for community pharmacies.

Maria Caulfield: Officials have regular discussions with HM Treasury on community pharmacy funding. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework commits £2.592 billion every year to community pharmacy from 2019 to 2024. Negotiations on what the sector will deliver in 2022/23 within this funding are ongoing. Additional funding has been available to community pharmacies for flu vaccination and COVID-19 services, including the medicines delivery service, vaccinations and Pharmacy Collect.

Dementia: Research

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government has taken to help ensure the long-term sustainability of funding for dementia research.

Maria Caulfield: We have committed £375 million for research into neurodegenerative disease over the next five years, including dementia. Funding is provided through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including dementia. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. The forthcoming dementia strategy will set out our plans for dementia in England in future years, included increasing further research. The strategy will be published later this year.

Breast Cancer: Research

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has (a) commissioned research on and (b) allocated funding to research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Maria Caulfield: The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The following table shows the research projects on triple negative breast cancer funded by the NIHR since 2019/20.Award titleAward budgetAtezolizumab with nab-paclitaxel for untreated PD L1-positive, locally advanced or metastatic, triple-negative breast cancer [ID1522]£65,625Pembrolizumab in combination for untreated, locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic, triple negative breast cancer [ID1546]£65,625Atezolizumab (neoadjuvant, with nab-paclitaxel) for early, triple negative breast cancer (ID1574)£65,625Sacituzumab govitecan for treating unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer after two or more therapies ID3942£65,625 The NIHR is also supporting the delivery of triple negative breast cancer research funded by research partners in the charity and public sectors. In 2020/21, the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported approximately 25 related studies into triple negative breast cancer. With Cancer Research UK, the NIHR is jointly funding a network of Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres for the discovery and early-phase clinical testing of new anti-cancer treatments, including immunotherapy. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is determined by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure that increases in A&E waiting times do not negatively effect mortality rates and (b) use nightingale facilities as triage units.

Edward Argar: The ‘UEC Recovery 10 Point Action Plan – Implementation guide. Working together to ensure urgent and emergency care recovery’ includes a focus on accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor A&E waiting times and are reviewing the impacts on patients as a result of delays across the emergency patient pathway. There are currently no plans to use Nightingale facilities as triage units.

Diabetes: Ophthalmic Services

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how people who are housebound and require a diabetic eye screening can access that service in the event that it is not provided by private or NHS providers in their local area.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what services are available to housebound patients who require diabetic eye screenings.

Maria Caulfield: If an individual is unable to attend in person at a community-based setting, a retinal assessment by a qualified optometrist can be provided through their general practitioner through the community domiciliary optometry service. Individuals can be referred for further investigation or treatment at hospital eye services which can provide facilities to support attendance and assist patients who are housebound.

Midwives: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the extent of shortages of midwives in Essex; and whether he plans to take steps in response to that matter.

Edward Argar: No recent estimate has been made as regional vacancy data for midwives is not collected centrally.We have committed to expand midwifery training places by 3,650 over a four-year period. Health Education England has worked with stakeholders to support this commitment and expects to achieve an additional 1,000 places this year and the overall target by the end of 2022/23. In addition, we have announced £95 million to support the recruitment of 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians to ensure safe staffing levels and personalised midwifery care.

Department of Health and Social Care: Training

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.

Edward Argar: The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of net zero, climate change and wider environmental issues. In the first phase, the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit (GSCU) is working with Departments to create an awareness level training resource for all civil servants. This will be piloted from April 2022. In the next phases, GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific functions and professions and will signpost the training and other resources on net zero, which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels in Government Departments.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond Question 118533 tabled on 31 January 2022 by the hon. Member for Walthamstow on Hospital: Admissions.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 118533.

Department of Health and Social Care: Departmental Responsibilities

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the responsibilities of each Minister in his Department.

Edward Argar: The information requested is available on GOV.UK at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond Question 114728 tabled on 31 January 2022 by the hon. Member for Walthamstow on Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 114728.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Question 71517 tabled on 8 November 2021 on Members: Correspondence, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 27 August 2021, referenced RL26309.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 February 2022 to Question 71517.

Blood Cancer: Health Professions

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made the adequacy of supply within the haematological workforce in the NHS; and whether the Government has plans to increase haematology capacity.

Edward Argar: The Department has made no such estimate.Health Education England continues to identify priorities for investment across all medical specialties and the wider workforce. Haematology has seen moderate expansion as part of the investment in cancer and diagnostics in the last two years. Haematology is also one of the specialties under review for investment to support the recovery of services and discussions are ongoing with NHS England and NHS Improvement on possible expansion. If successful, additional training places will be established from August 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 17 November 2021 from the hon. Member for High Peak, reference RL30803.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 10 March 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 23 November 2021 from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys on behalf of a constituent regarding social care.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 8 February 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond to Question 107516 tabled on 18 January 2022 by the hon. Member for Llanelli on Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome in the NHS.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 107516.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to correspondence of 21 October 2021 and follow up emails of 22 November 2021 and 6 January 2022 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent, reference JB34743.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 10 February 2022.

Health and Care Bill: Children

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department did not undertake a Child Impact Assessment on the Health and Care Bill.

Edward Argar: Children were considered during the development of the combined impact assessments and the European Court of Human Rights Memorandum. We have engaged with a range of stakeholders, particularly through the Children and Young People's Health Policy Influencing Group, which includes over 70 voluntary organisations, Royal Colleges and professional organisations. We have worked with these stakeholders to ensure that the Bill's proposals support integrated service provision for infants, children and young people.

Health Services: Staff

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of potential staff losses as a result of mandating covid-19 vaccination.

Edward Argar: The impact assessment published on 11 December 2021 estimated the proportion and number of workers who may remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of 12-week grace period and are not medically exempt. For National Health Service staff this was 4.9% or 73,000 and in all social care settings, this was 7.6% or 38,000. Decisions on the dismissal of unvaccinated workers, rather than redeployment, or unpaid leave, was not quantified as this would be a decision for individual employers.On 31 January 2022, we announced the Government’s intention to revoke the regulations making vaccination as condition of deployment in health and social care, subject to consultation.

Mental Health Services: Equality

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what race equality training is provided to mental health professionals employed by the NHS.

Edward Argar: The training of staff on equality and diversity is a matter for individual National Health Service organisations. Many organisations include race equality in mandatory training sessions as part of their governance arrangements.NHS staff are encouraged to refer to and read good practice guidance online. Training programmes, such as the Workforce Race Equality Standards experts programme, are nationally funded. NHS England and NHS Improvement also provide webinars on equality, diversity and inclusion which can be accessed by NHS staff.

Liver Diseases: Screening

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to increase funding for liver disease scanning and testing in community diagnosis centres; what steps he is taking to reduce liver disease deaths; what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in those deaths; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: The Spending Review 2021 allocated £2.3 billion for diagnostics to increase the number of community diagnostic centres to at least 100 sites by March 2025. This will increase diagnostic capacity for tests, such as ultrasounds, blood tests and computed tomography scans, to diagnose liver disease and improve earlier diagnosis and health outcomes. There are no plans to increase funding for liver disease scanning or testing specifically.The National Health Service is introducing an indicator to support the earlier detection of liver disease in those most at-risk cohorts by incentivising improved access to cirrhosis and fibrosis tests for alcohol dependent in-patients. The NHS Health Check invites adults aged 40 to 74 years old for an overall health check, which can provide early detection and identify potential risks of liver disease. Local authorities are responsible for assessing alcohol risk through the NHS Health Check and providing specialist treatment services for dependent drinkers. The NHS has invested £27 million to establish specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals with the highest rates of admissions related to alcohol dependence.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published Liver Disease Profiles, which showed the main increase in liver disease mortality was due to additional alcoholic liver disease deaths in 2020. Additional deaths from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and from hepatitis B related end-stage liver disease/hepatocellular carcinoma also showed a smaller increase. Deprivation is also identified as an influential factor on liver disease mortality, with those living in the most deprived areas being more adversely affected.

Health Services: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that all Ukrainian refugees entering the UK receive free healthcare through the NHS.

Edward Argar: Anyone entering the United Kingdom from Ukraine under the Home Office’s Ukraine Scheme will be entitled to free National Health Service treatment without paying the Immigration Health Surcharge. In addition, those applying as an asylum seeker or applying for humanitarian protection and their dependents will be entitled to free NHS care. Officials are currently reviewing the situation for those entering the UK by these routes.

Medical Treatments: Life Sciences

Tom Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policy on the commitment in the Life Sciences Vision to have an ambitious National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Methods Review.

Edward Argar: As reflected in the Life Sciences Vision, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is introducing a number of changes to ensure that its methods and processes are fairer, more consistent and accelerate the introduction of emerging technologies.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Prescriptions

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients received prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy prescriptions in each of the last three years; and how many prescriptions for that treatment were made in each of the last three years.

Edward Argar: The information is not collected in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients for whom a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medication has been dispensed and the number of prescription items for HRT medication in the last three years.  Number of identified patientsTotal number of prescription items, including those for which no patient could be identifiedDecember 2018 to November 20191,145,2623,923,194December 2019 to November 20201,076,0383,866,793December 2020 to November 20211,284,4884,542,567 Source: NHS Business Services Authority Notes: Data on items prescribed but not dispensed is not collected centrally.It should be noted that when interpreting the patient counts, some patients could appear in results for multiple years. Therefore, the patient numbers cannot be combined and reported at any other level than as provided in the dataset.

Cancer: Screening

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release dated 8 September 2021, Innovation and new technology to help reduce NHS waiting lists, whether the 9 million additional scans introduced by the Government include scanning for cancer.

Edward Argar: Since the publication of the press release, we have published the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’. This sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services in the next three years. The plan aims to deliver nine million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures and approximately 30% more elective activity by 2024/25, including for cancer patients.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether there is an HRT medical supplies shortage.

Edward Argar: The Department is aware of supply issues affecting a very limited number of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products. However, most products, including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues. remain available. We continue to work with all suppliers of HRT medicines to maintain overall supply to patients and share regular updates with the National Health Service and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.

Rare Diseases

Tom Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to NICE’s Methods and Process on patients with very rare diseases.

Edward Argar: A number of changes adopted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) following its updated methods and processes manual for health technology assessments, will support access to innovative medicines for patients with rare diseases. NICE has introduced a new modifier to consider the severity of the disease or condition under consideration when making recommendations. As many rare conditions are also severe, its committees can give additional weight to the treatment benefits for these conditions.Where there is uncertain evidence in relation to a medicine, which can affect patients with rare diseases where the population is small, NICE will now adopt a more flexible and proportional attitude towards evidence uncertainty within its decision making.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to end compulsory covid-19 restrictions in care homes.

Gillian Keegan: The Department is reviewing the remaining measures in place in adult social care settings. We will publish updated infection prevention control guidance by 1 April 2022 on the next phase of the response in adult social care.While most care recipients in adult social care are vaccinated, care home residents remain at a greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 relative to the general population. The transmission risk remains high in vulnerable settings due to the kind of close contact care individuals receive. Therefore, some protections need to remain in place for those in adult social care settings.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his Department's policy to ensure that covid-19 lateral flow tests remain free of charge and readily available to the general public.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free access to asymptomatic and symptomatic testing for the general public in England will end. We will continue to provide free testing for some at risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be made available in due course.

Blood Cancer: Coronavirus

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure blood cancer patients receive priority access to covid-19 PCR tests.

Maggie Throup: The Department commissioned an independent expert to establish the eligible cohort for new COVID-19 treatments. This includes patients receiving certain treatments for blood cancers and those with specific types of blood cancers. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provided approximately 1.3 million priority polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits to the eligible patients. The UKHSA is also sending replacement priority PCR kits to eligible patients, which can also be requested via 119.

Yellow Card Scheme: Coronavirus

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many UK Yellow Cards relating to covid-19 vaccines has the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency analysed since 15 December 2021; and how many which have been received are still awaiting analysis.

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require the MHRA to share results of its analysis of yellow cards in its Yellow Card Scheme with the patient in respect of whom the Yellow Card was received; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: Between 15 December 2021 and 2 February 2022, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received and analysed 18,263 Yellow Card reports concerning the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine; 3,214 Yellow Card reports concerning the AstraZeneca vaccine; and 10,582 Yellow Card reports concerning the Moderna vaccine. The MHRA publishes weekly information on adverse reactions reported following COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom vaccination programme, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reactionsThe MHRA has no plans to share the assessment of individual reports with the individual patient. The MHRA’s assessment takes into account the totality of information available from Yellow Cards as well as other relevant data sources to ensure robust regulatory actions.

Cystic Fibrosis: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps (a) people with cystic fibrosis and who have had a lung transplant and (b) other people who are immunocompromised should take to access their fourth covid-19 vaccine; and what steps he is taking to improve clarity on how that information is recorded.

Maggie Throup: Where an individual has received their third primary dose, they are eligible for a fourth booster dose from three months after the third dose. An individual’s general practitioner (GP) or hospital specialist will invite them for their booster when eligible. Appointments can be booked online or via a walk-in vaccination site, with an accompanying letter from a GP or their hospital specialist inviting them for a booster vaccination. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine-people-with-severely-weakened-immune-system/Those with cystic fibrosis and who have received a recent lung transplant and others with a severely weakened immune system should discuss their individual circumstances with their clinical team. We have also provided resources and additional information to charities and patient organisations representing those with severely compromised immune systems, including patients with cystic fibrosis and who have also received a lung transplant.All doses administered to severely immunosuppressed citizens are recorded in the approved Point of Care systems. Fourth doses are recorded as booster vaccinations with the date administered on the patient’s vaccine record in addition to the third primary dose.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his covid-19 vaccine strategy.

Maggie Throup: There are no current plans to publish a COVID-19 vaccine strategy. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation continues to review the available data on the durability of protection against severe COVID-19 in all age groups and will develop further advice in due course.

Coronavirus: Preventive Medicine

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to purchase existing prophylactic treatments for covid-19 in the future.

Maggie Throup: The Department is reviewing the evidence for the prophylactic use of antivirals in the National Health Service for the immunocompromised.    To date the evidence has supported treatment rather than prophylaxis although we will keep the preventative use under review for efficacy and safety. Later this spring, a post-exposure prophylaxis sub-study as part of the PANORAMIC national study will investigate the effect of prescribing oral antivirals to those who are a household contact of a COVID-19 positive individual. In addition, the PROTECT-V study is trialling sotrovimab and niclosamide as prophylactic drugs administered over a six-month period in vulnerable renal and immunosuppressed patients.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will appoint a dedicated lead for immunocompromised and immunosuppressed people in Government in order to provide adequate communication and guidance on covid-19 to this group.

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will appoint a dedicated lead for immunocompromised and immunosuppressed people in Government in order to provide adequate communication and guidance on covid-19 to this group.

Maggie Throup: The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, is the Senior Coordinating Clinical Lead for the programmes supporting these patients.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps in response to current high levels of covid-19 (a) infection and (b) transmission.

Maggie Throup: The Government continues to monitor levels of COVID-19 infection and transmission and keeps any necessary steps to manage the virus under review.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish updated detailed guidance and communications for people who are immunocompromised as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Maggie Throup: Updated guidance was issued on 25 February 2022 for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk Enhanced protections such as those offered by treatments, additional vaccinations and potentially other non-clinical interventions may benefit this group.

Coronavirus: Research

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Government has ended funding for the ZOE COVID study.

Maggie Throup: Due to the reduction in serious illness and deaths from COVID-19 we have begun a new phase of living with the virus. We will continue to monitor COVID-19 through studies such as the Office for National Statistics’ COVID Infection Survey, SIREN and Vivaldi and many data sources. We will also continue genome sequencing of cases to provide further insights.

Coronavirus: Screening

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has completed an equality impact assessment on the potential risk to clinically vulnerable people of the end of free asymptomatic covid-19 lateral flow tests from 1 April.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. We will continue to make testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be available in due course. Equalities impact assessments were completed to inform decisions on Living with COVID-19 and we will continue to consider the impacts on all groups.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with charities supporting immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups to discuss what the Government will do to support them to live safely with covid-19.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department consulted with charities representing immunosuppressed people on the Government's plan for living with covid-19.

Maggie Throup: We will continue to meet with charities and stakeholders representing those who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised. The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, is the clinical lead for programmes supporting these patients and has met with charities at stakeholder engagement sessions.

Coronavirus: Screening

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the financial impact on people who are clinically vulnerable of needing to pay for covid-19 lateral flow tests from 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. We will continue to make free testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be available in due course. We will review the impact of these policies on people who are at risk of serious illness.

Oral Tobacco

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make a comparative assessment of prevalence of oral cancer amongst (a) South Asian women and (b) the adult population; and if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a product standard for chewed tobacco products as recommended in the 2006 study entitled Levels of toxins in oral tobacco products in the UK published in the journal Tobacco Control, volume 15, issue 1.

Maggie Throup: ‘Oral cancer in England’, published in May 2020, compared the incidence of oral cancer in Asian/Asian British people with other ethnic groups in the adult population, although it made no specific assessment of prevalence in South Asian women. We have no plans to make such an assessment.No assessment of creating a product standard has been made. Products standards for tobacco are contained in The Tobacco and Related Products (Amendment) Regulations 2016. The Department is due to publish its post implementation review of the Regulations shortly.

Oral Tobacco: Sales

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce regulations for the sale of oral nicotine pouches.

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the British Standards Institution document PAS 8877:2022 entitled Tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches Composition, manufacture and testing specification, published on 28 February 2022.

Maggie Throup: Tobacco-free oral nicotine products are regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. We are reviewing the regulatory framework for these products. No assessment of the implications of the British Standards Institution document PAS 8877 has been made.

Coronavirus: Screening

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the approach to covid-19 testing outlined in the guidance COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19, whether the Government plans to make free asymptomatic lateral flow tests available to (a) clinically vulnerable people, (b) their friends and relatives, (c) people who provide their care and (d) other close contacts.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free universal access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. We will continue to make testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be made available in due course. We will continue to review the impact of these policies on those who are at risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and their contacts.

Dentistry: Influenza

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has (a) made or (b) received representations from NHS England on its decision not to keep dentists and their teams within the NHS flu vaccine programme in 2022.

Maggie Throup: Representations have been received from NHS England. There are regular weekly meetings with NHS England and NHS Improvement on a range of topics, including the seasonal flu programme.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people who fail to attend their covid-19 booster vaccination appointments.

Maggie Throup: In order to reduce the number of ‘did not attend’ events, the COVID-19 vaccine programme will cancel appointments where people are identified as having received the vaccination, send reminders to those to advise they should cancel their appointments if they can no longer attend and has provided Primary Care Networks with access to National Booking System appointments to avoid inviting those with existing appointments.The vaccine programme’s delivery models also provide options on vaccination sites, including walk-in services to reduce the number of unattended appointments and cancellations.

Home Care Services: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to ensure that domiciliary care is available to isolated rural residents where care contractors do not deem it commercially viable to provide services to them due to the travel time involved.

Gillian Keegan: Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to shape their local markets to ensure that a range of high quality, sustainable, person-centred care and support services are available to meet the needs of the local population. The Government has made £1.4 billion available to support local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair cost of care. Local authorities will be required to conduct an exercise to understand the costs of providing care in the local area. These exercises should reflect geographic variation in costs, such as staff pay and travel time.We have also announced up to £30 million to support local areas to implement new models of care, supporting innovation in delivery, investment, market-shaping and commissioning practices for care.

NHS Digital: Consultants

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS Digital has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years.

Gillian Keegan: The following table shows NHS Digital’s expenditure on consultancy in each of the last five years.YearExpenditure2016/17£1,584,7602017/18£332,6592018/19£1,798,7602019/20£1,394,0622020/21£926,724 Source: NHS Digital Annual Report and Accounts.Note:This data has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Health and Social Care Group Accounting Manual, which defines consultancy as the provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of the organisation in pursuit of its purposes and objectives.

Mental Health Services: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient and proficient trauma support for refugees entering the UK from Ukraine.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing how we can address the implications of the Ukraine crisis and meet the needs of refugees and the Ukrainian diaspora in England.

NHS: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to secure value for money from the additional funds allocated to the NHS for 2022-23.

Edward Argar: The new Health and Social Care Levy provides £23.3 billion for the National Health Service over the Spending Review period. We will ensure that this investment is provided for frontline care in England, increasing efficiencies and using reforms to improve productivity. This will include prioritising diagnosis and treatment, transforming the delivery of elective care and providing better information and support to patients.

General Practitioners: Management

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) officials in his Department and (b) General Sir Gordon Messenger on the inclusion of general practice leadership as part of his Department's review of NHS leadership.

Edward Argar: Primary care and general practice is within scope of the Health and Social Care Leadership Review and we have been engaging with stakeholders from the sector. We have had regular engagement with General Sir Gordon Messenger and officials throughout the review. The Review is expected to conclude in spring 2022.

Health Services and Social Services: Staff

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an assessment of (a) current and (b) future workforce requirements in health and social care each two years from 2022 onwards.

Edward Argar: There are no current plans to make such an assessment. However, workforce supply is monitored by the Department and other bodies involved in workforce planning. NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics on a regular basis.In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England to work with partners to review long term strategic trends for the health and regulated social care workforce. In addition, the Department has recently commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a workforce strategy. Further information on the strategy and its conclusions will be published in due course.

Maternity Services: Finance

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on NHS maternity services in each year since 2015.

Edward Argar: The information requested is shown in the following table. This is taken from Reference Costs data to 2019/20, the most recent data available.Financial yearProportion of National Health Service budget2015/162.5%2016/172.6%2017/182.6%2018/192.5%2019/202.3%

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust: Standards

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of ambulance responses by the South East Coast Ambulance Service to category 1 call-outs were within the target of 15 minutes; and what the average response time was in that service for category 1 call-outs in each of the last 24 months.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of ambulance responses by the South East Coast Ambulance Service to category 2 call-outs were within the target of 40 minutes; and what the average response time was in that service for category 2 call-outs in each of the last 24 months.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of ambulance responses by the South East Coast Ambulance Service to category 3 call-outs were within the target of 120 minutes; and what the average response time was in that service for category 3 call-outs in each of the last 24 months.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of ambulance responses by the South East Coast Ambulance Service to category 4 call-outs were within the target of 180 minutes; and what the average response time was in that service for category 4 call-outs in each of the last 24 months.

Edward Argar: Data on the percentage of South East Coast Ambulance Service ambulance responses in each category is not held centrally. The following table shows the average response time for each category in each of the last 24 months.  DateCategory 1 Average response time in minutesCategory 2 Average response time in minutesCategory 3 Average response time in hours, minutes and secondsCategory 4 Average response time in hours, minutes and secondsFebruary 20207:4319:131:31:092:03:26March 20207:5221:251:44:502:11:09April 20207:0514:5049:141:08:29May 20207:0014:2844:5659:14June 20207:3216:441:09:581:34:06July 20207:5818:411:26:131:46:31August 20207:5418:581:34:211:59:55September 20207:4518:571:28:532.05.26October 20207:3518:221:24:031:51:59November 20207:3517:341:14:251:42:20December 20208:2526:522:35:243:25:10January 20218:3025:542:26:532:31:16February 20217:3516:5054:081:12:22March 20217:3718:371:14:271:29:08April 20217:3218:531:20:372:01:55May 20217:5721:281:44:132:28:51June 20218:1826:102:35:113:38:45July 20218:4930:373:13:502:48:25August 20218:4529:422:45:363:58:43September 20219:0030:583:07:164:07:53October 20219:0834:563:24:264:39:58November 20219:1133:332:42:444:16:33December 20218:4234:172:46:464:01:27January 20228:4428:212:01:322:46:29February 20228:4332:162:28:053:23:21

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 15 December 2021, referenced RL31475.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 21 February 2022.

Midwives

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the year-on-year fall in the number of midwives employed by the NHS in England.

Edward Argar: As of November 2021, there are 22,391 full time equivalent midwives working in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England, an increase of 2,642 or 13.4% since November 2010. Data from NHS Digital shows that between November 2010 and November 2020 there was a year on year rise in the number of midwives employed by the NHS in England. There was a decrease of 331 midwives employed by the NHS between November 2020 and November 2021. The Department recognises the challenges of dealing with the pandemic and the demands placed on the NHS workforce.Through the NHS People Plan, we have invested £43 million in mental health support for staff. This includes a wellbeing guardian role to ensure board level scrutiny of staff health and wellbeing; a focus on healthy working environments and safe spaces for staff to rest and recuperate; and 40 mental health hubs providing outreach and assessment services to help frontline staff receive rapid access to evidence based mental health services. The People Recovery Task Force is developing a framework for the NHS to make full use of the annual leave policy; providing ongoing physical and mental health support; retaining staff who have returned to the NHS; allowing time for leaders and teams to reflect on the experiences of the pandemic; and invest in wellbeing conversations and a strong role for wellbeing guardians.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital: Repairs and Maintenance

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of delays in the modernisation of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on the mortality rate.

Edward Argar: No assessment has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement are expecting the Strategic Outline Case to be resubmitted by the Trust in the first quarter of 2022. The Department will consider it once received.

General Practitioners: Registration

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to ensure patients are aware that they are able to register with GP practices considered out-of-area.

Maria Caulfield: Where a patient who is outside a practice’s boundary area applies to register, the practice may register the patient, either as any other registered National Health Service patient or as an out of area registered patient to whom the practice has no obligation to provide home visits.Additionally, all practices must produce a practice leaflet, which should include information on how patients can register and the contractor's practice area, including the outer boundary area and whether it accepts out of area registration requests. This is also recommended for practice websites.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Social Media

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.

David T C Davies: All of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ spending of more than £500 is routinely made publicly available and can be found via the following link: Transparency Spend over £500 for February 2019 - December 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Wales Office: Sustainable Development

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether a senior official in his Department has responsibility for departmental sustainability.

David T C Davies: A member of my Department’s Senior Leadership Team has responsibility for departmental sustainability.

Department for Education

University of Exeter: Carbon Emissions

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the University of Exeter's progress to becoming net zero by 2050.

Michelle Donelan: No specific assessment is made by government departments of individual educational institutions to assess their progress to becoming net zero by 2050. This includes the University of Exeter.We have supported the Queen’s Jubilee Challenge for the FE and HE sector to accelerate a sector-led review, so that by 2024 all FE and HE settings will be reporting their emissions via a standardised framework.

Pupils: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure teachers and support staff are adequately equipped to meet the needs of school-aged children from Ukraine including support for their trauma and mental health.

Mr Robin Walker: Work is underway across government departments to address the implications of the Ukraine crises and meet the needs of Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian diaspora living in England. The government wants all children, regardless of their background, and no matter what challenges they face, to feel safe. ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) gives schools and colleges statutory guidance and best practice advice to safeguard all children in their care. This guidance enables teachers and all school staff to feel confident in supporting children and is clear on what they should do if they have any concerns about a child to enable early help and intervention. All schools and colleges should appoint a Designated Safeguarding Lead who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding. They act as a source of support, advice and expertise for staff, working closely with local authorities on children’s social care. Local authorities have equal and shared duty with police and health, to make arrangements to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in a local area. KCSIE and the ‘working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance are clear that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Teachers are not mental health professionals, and Ukrainian children and their families may need ongoing support available from specialist NHS and other community services. However, education staff are well placed to observe children day-to-day and identify those whose behaviour suggests that they may be experiencing trauma or a mental health issue. The department has put in place a wide range of training and guidance to help education staff to understand mental health issues, including trauma and how to respond effectively. The department’s £15 million Wellbeing for Education Recovery and Return programmes provided free training, support and resources for staff dealing with children and young people experiencing additional pressures from COVID-19 or other events, including trauma, anxiety or grief. Psychological first aid e-learning training is also available for parents and carers, front line workers and volunteers supporting children and young people in emergency or crisis situations. This training is available here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/psychological-first-aid-for-children-and-young-people. The department’s ‘mental health and behaviour in schools’ guidance also advises how education staff can identify children in need of extra mental health support, which includes working with external agencies. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2. As well as that, the department has published guidance and signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges#mental-health-and-wellbeing-resources. Senior mental health lead training grants are being provided to schools and colleges, helping them to develop effective approaches to promote and support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, backed by £9.5 million in the 2021/22 academic year. Over 8,000 schools and colleges have so far applied for a training grant, and a further £3 million to extend senior mental health leads training to even more schools and colleges was announced in February 2022. The government is also increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams that work with groups of schools and colleges and provide early intervention for those experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues, to cover approximately 35% of pupils in England by 2023.

Special Educational Needs: Reviews

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish the Special educational needs and disabilities review.

Will Quince: The outcome of the special educational needs and disabilities review will be published as a Green Paper for full public consultation by the end of March.

Children: Disability

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings in the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership and Let Us Learn Too, The SEND Money Survey, that 33 per cent of parents and carers said that they could not afford to spend money on speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy in the last five years, that 26 per cent of parents and carers said that they had spent between £1,000 and £5,000 on those therapies and that 11 per cent said that had spent between £5,000 and £10,000 on those therapies.

Will Quince: The government recognises that the current special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system does not consistently deliver the outcomes we want and expect for children and young people with SEND, their families or the people and services who support them, as highlighted by the SEND Money Survey conducted by Let Us Learn Too and the Disabled Children’s Partnership.We are conducting a Review of the SEND system and looking at ways to make sure the system is more consistent, high quality, and integrated across education, health, and care. The outcome of that Review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation by the end of March 2022.Throughout the Review, we have engaged with people and organisations, including representatives from Let Us Learn Too and the Disabled Children’s Partnership. We will continue to do so through a full, public consultation following publication.We know that COVID-19 has impacted on services and, as a result, many specialist services have adjusted their delivery models during their recovery. As services resume, we are keen to ensure the right support is available and that children and young people are given access to therapies and equipment. We continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to look at ways to improve therapies access. In support of this, we issued joint guidance in September 2021 for education and health providers, working with a cross-sector group including the Royal Colleges and professional organisations. This guidance sets out the expectations for the delivery of specialist support for children and young people, and is available here: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-cdc/media-centre/news-opinion/delivery-specialist-11-and-group-interventions-children-and.Education policy is a devolved matter, so arrangements covering SEND policy and provision in Wales are a matter for the Welsh Government.

Speech and Language Therapy

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in the final report of the spotlight inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Looked After Children and Care Leavers, published on 22 February 2022, that speech, language and communication needs can be a key barrier which when unsupported can act to limit the development of important relationships and community networks.

Will Quince: The department wants all children and young people, no matter what their special educational need or disability, to be able to reach their full potential and receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. This includes looked-after children and care leavers with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). All local authorities must appoint a virtual school head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. All looked-after children attract pupil premium plus funding of £2,345 per child per year, which is managed by the VSH to address educational and development needs, including SLCN, identified in their personal education plan, and the support needed to address them. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, all schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of the pupils they support, including looked-after children and care leavers with SLCN. Schools are also required to make sure that a child or young person gets the support they need. The government recognises that the current SEND system does not deliver the outcomes we want and expect for all children and young people with SEND, their families or the people and services who support them. The government is reviewing the system and looking at ways to make sure it is more consistent, high quality, and integrated across education, health and care. The outcome of that review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation by the end of March 2022.

Children: Social Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to collect data from local authorities on early help provision.

Will Quince: The department does not currently collect data on the type of support provided in early help. The Supporting Families programme is testing ways of collecting needs and outcomes data on early help. The department will also consider any relevant recommendations from the independent review of children’s social care. Learning from both will inform any next steps.

Children: Protection

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the report by Action for Children, Too Little Too Late, published in March 2022.

Will Quince: The ‘Too Little, Too Late’ report recommends an increase in funding for a range of early intervention services. In the Budget and Spending Review 2021, we announced a £500 million package for families. This includes £300 million to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of the council areas in England, and a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families Programme. The additional Supporting Families funding represents around a 40% real-terms uplift for the programme by the 2024/25 financial year, taking total planned investment across the next 3 years to £695 million. This funding will help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple, interconnected issues to access effective support and improve their life outcomes. It will also begin to reduce the pressure on reactive, statutory services as the system starts to rebalance away from intervening at crisis point. The report’s recommendations on a legal duty for Early Help, and additional data collection on Early Help, will be considered as part of our response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in the report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, The residential schools investigation, that children in residential special schools are particularly vulnerable because their communication needs may impact on their ability to tell people about sexually abusive behaviours.

Will Quince: We welcome the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s report on residential schools, published on 1 March 2022. We will carefully consider the Inquiry’s recommendations and will respond within the Inquiry’s deadline of 6 months.

Children: Social Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to local authorities to improve the (a) collection and (b) storage of children’s services data.

Will Quince: Local authorities record and store children’s services data in digital case management systems procured from the market. The department’s upcoming Children’s Social Care Digital Programme is working with local authorities and case management system suppliers to develop soon to be published guidance. The guidance is aiming to support local authority planning, procurement, and implementation of case management systems. We are also working across government to observe how data and technology can be used to enable better multi-agency information sharing in safeguarding. This includes an investigation study on the feasibility of adopting a consistent child identifier.

Children: Care Homes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government's timeframe is for implementing the recommendations of the forthcoming investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into children’s residential care.

Will Quince: In March 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a market study examining the lack of availability and increasing costs in children’s social care provision, including children’s homes and fostering agencies. The CMA examined concerns around high prices paid by local authorities, and the inadequate supply of appropriate placements for children. Its interim report was published on 22 October 2021. Its full report, including recommendations, was published on 10 March 2022 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-market-study-final-report.The department welcomes the report and is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations. At this point, the department is unable to comment on timeframes for implementation of the recommendations, until it has fully considered the findings contained in the final report. The department commits to responding to the report within 90 days.

Ministry of Justice

Offences against Children

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of childhood sexual abuse have (a) been refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and (b) had a compensation award reduced as a result of their criminal record.

Tom Pursglove: The statutory Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme) requires that awards are withheld where the applicant has an unspent conviction of a specified type, including custodial sentences and community orders. Where the applicant has a different type of unspent conviction, the Scheme requires that any award is withheld or reduced unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so.In the 3-year period between 12 March 2019 and 11 March 2022:383 applications from victims of childhood sexual abuse were refused due to unspent convictions; and111 awards made to victims of childhood sexual abuse were reduced due to unspent convictions.The above figures relate to finalised claims which were submitted on or after 1 February 2015. The data is not available in connection with claims submitted prior to that date. While the incident happened during childhood, many applications are submitted in adulthood. Applications may have more than one refusal reason.

Prison Accommodation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of prison space to house the projected prison population of 98,500 by March 2026.

Victoria Atkins: We are committed to building as many prison places as we need. Over the next ten years, additional capacity will come in to use through new build prison accommodation, existing accommodation returning to use following the completion of essential maintenance or places coming into use following a change in function. We are investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 additional, modern prison places including 2,000 temporary prison places across England and Wales. This includes creating four new prisons over the next six years and expanding another four prisons over the next three years. The first of these, HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire, opened in February and work is also well underway at HMP Fosse Way, Leicestershire (on the former HMP Glen Parva site).

Prisoners on Remand

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) gender and (b) ethnicity is of people who are held (a) on remand, (b) on remand for longer than six months, (c) on remand longer than a year and (d) on remand longer than two years in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The information that has been requested is set out in the attached tables.table (xlsx, 18.4KB)

Prisoners: Food

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will investigate for what reason prisoner A5586CP is not being given food in their prison cell.

Victoria Atkins: All prisoners are offered three meals per day and are required to collect them from serveries unless unable to for health reasons, or where intelligence suggests their safety is at risk. In such instances, other provisions are put in place.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the recommendations of the Lammy Review, published on 8 September 2017, have been implemented by the Government to date.

Victoria Atkins: The Government published its response to the Lammy Review in 2017. Of the 35 recommendations in the Lammy Review, 33 recommendations were accepted; the two that were not taken forward by Government were related to the independent judiciary (Recommendations 14, 16). Actions have been taken against each of the accepted 33 recommendations. Few actions remain incomplete, with those left centred on long-term recruitment targets and developing a more representative workforce within HMPPPS (recommendations 28 and 29). They will need to remain open for some time as they involve long term targets. A detailed update on progress against all the recommendations of the Lammy Review was published in 2020: Tackling Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: 2020 Update (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Reparation by Offenders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the proportion of victims who are told about the option of Restorative Justice and how to access it.

Tom Pursglove: The Government supports and funds the provision of good quality, victim-focused restorative justice, to help victims cope and recover from the effects of crime.Under the Victims’ Code, all victims have the right to receive information about how to access restorative justice services in their local area. This information may be provided at any stage of the criminal justice process. The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of victims who receive this information.

Marriage: Humanism

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the financial impact of the policy not to legislate for the legal recognition of humanist marriages until after the Law Commission review, for couples that want a humanist marriage, who must also have a civil ceremony for their marriage to be legally recognised.

Tom Pursglove: The Government consulted in 2014 on marriages by non-religious belief organisations. Its summary assessment of costs and benefits was published in the response, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/marriages-by-non-religious-belief-organisations(opens in a new tab). The Law Commission will also be looking into the impact of the current law on costs incurred by humanist couples. The Government will reconsider this issue on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations. This report is expected in July 2022.

Marriage: Humanism

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government's 20 December 2021 announcement of proposals to use interim reform to legislate for outdoor civil and religious marriages, for what reason the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice stated that legislating for humanist marriages would pre-empt the Law Commission’s review of marriage law, Official Report, 27 January 2022, col 439 WH.

Tom Pursglove: By looking at the law comprehensively, the Law Commission will be able to ensure that, insofar as possible, groups and couples are all subject to the same rules and the same level of regulation. The Law Commission recommendations are expected to eliminate the current situation where a couple with one set of beliefs is legally permitted to marry in one type of location (for example, in a private garden), but a couple with another set of beliefs is not. That reform is not possible by only authorising humanist weddings. The Government will carefully consider the Law Commission’s recommendations when the final report is published, and it is right for us to wait for the outcome of the Law Commission’s report due in July.

Treasury

Economic Situation

Dame Angela Eagle: What recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK economy.

John Glen: Last year we saw a faster-than-previously-expected economic recovery, with the fastest growth in the G7. However, the conflict in Ukraine has affected the global economy. The government is closely monitoring developments and the channels which may impact the UK economy. The precise impacts will depend on the size and persistence of any shocks to trade, financial markets, and energy markets, which are highly uncertain.

Question

Mark Fletcher: What fiscal steps he has taken to support investment in UK infrastructure.

John Glen: The Budget and Spending Review in October 2021 confirmed a total £100 billion of investment in economic infrastructure over the Spending Review period to benefit every part of the UK. The new UK Infrastructure Bank also opened for business in June 2021 and is partnering with the private sector and local governments to increase investment in infrastructure. With £22 billion of financial capacity, the Bank has already successfully supported three loans, including two private sector loans, investing in offshore wind, solar energy, and broadband.

Inflation

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what forecast his Department has made of the potential peak in consumer price inflation over the next 12 months.

John Glen: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its most recent economic and fiscal forecasts in October 2021, when they expected CPI inflation to peak at 4.4% in Q2 2022. The independent Bank of England stated in their February Monetary Policy Report that they expect inflation to peak at around 7.3% in April 2022. The Chancellor has requested the OBR publish a Spring forecast on 23 March 2022.

Debts

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what forecast his Department has made of the potential change in household debt as a share of household disposable income over the next 12 months.

John Glen: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of household debt in the UK. In the UK as a whole, household debt-to-income was 136.5% in 2021 Q3. This compares to a pre-financial crisis peak of 159% in 2008 Q1. In their October 2021 forecast, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated that household-debt-to-income would fall by 0.6 percentage points in 2022, and remain unchanged during 2023. The OBR will publish an updated forecast on 23 March 2022.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) potential breaches of sanctions have been investigated and (b) penalties have been issued for non-compliance by the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation since its establishment in 2016.

John Glen: The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes some form of compliance action in every suspected instance of non-compliance, and the majority of cases are resolved by enforcement activity short of a penalty. All suspected financial sanctions breaches reported are investigated. OFSI uses the figure of reports of suspected breaches of financial sanctions as our measurement of non-compliance in a given period. OFSI has published information about the number of breach investigations since 2017 in its Annual Reviews, accessible via GOV.UK. The number of reported suspected financial sanctions breaches over these previous years is as follows: 2017-18: 1222018-19: 992019-20: 1402020-21: 132 Since its establishment in 2016, OFSI has issued 7 fines for non-compliance, ranging from £5000 to £20,471,809.83 in scale.

Chelsea Football Club: Billing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the terms of sanctions that apply to Roman Abramovich on Chelsea FC, whether the that football club can pay invoices due for payment to suppliers of services.

John Glen: The licence permits Chelsea FC to make payments to third parties in respect of prior obligations, including contracts signed before 10 March 2022, except where those payments would be made to Roman Abramovich or another designated person.

Chelsea Football Club

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that no financial benefits from licensed football activities at Chelsea Football Club go to (a) sanctioned individuals, (b) sanctioned entities, (c) entities where the beneficial owner is a sanctioned individual or (d) the Russian Government.

John Glen: Roman Abramovich is a designated person, subject to financial sanctions. This means that all funds and economic resources belonging to him are subject to an asset freeze in the UK. As such, Chelsea Football Club and its subsidiaries are also subject to an asset freeze. General Licence INT/2022/1327076 permits the Club to undertake activities that are necessary to carry out its business as a football club, including playing and hosting fixtures. Although the licence allows payment to the club for certain activities those funds will be frozen; Roman Abramovich will not be able to access them. The licence only permits certain limited activities, it does not authorise anyone to deal with Roman Abramovich’s funds or economic resources, or make funds or economic resources available, to him or the Club outside the terms of the licence.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation: Staff

Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation has; and how many of those staff hold investigation and enforcement roles.

John Glen: The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, is the competent authority for financial sanctions in the UK. The staff in post in OFSI was 37.8 FTE as at 31 March 2021. This information can be found in HM Treasury’s Outcome Delivery Plan 2021 to 2022, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-outcome-delivery-plan/hm-treasury-outcome-delivery-plan-2021-to-2022. The number of staff has since increased and is now increasing again, in light of recent developments in Ukraine. Releasing further details of OFSI’s budget and headcount by function could prejudice its operational effectiveness.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation works with (a) other Government departments and (b) UK regulators to ensure compliance with sanctions; and with which organisations that body has Memorandums of Understanding.

John Glen: OFSI engages extensively and regularly with other Government departments and regulators involved in relevant work, to ensure a consistent cross-Government approach and aligned sanctions messaging. This covers a broad range of areas, including (but not necessarily limited to):international sanctions policytrade sanctions/embargoes (including enforcement)transport sanctions (including enforcement)travel bansfinancial sanctions enforcementthe UK financial systemregulated sectors (such as the legal, accountancy or charity sectors) Its engagement with the above includes information-sharing (with information both received and provided) under the provisions of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and associated relevant legislation. OFSI has a number of Memoranda of Understanding with partner organisations. However, I am unable to provide details of those currently in force or being negotiated between OFSI and other Government departments/partner agencies and regulators. The provision of such information could jeopardise ongoing investigations.

Companies: Income

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue from VAT his Department has received from companies with an annual turnover (a) between (i) £85,000 and £125,000, (ii) £126,000 and £250,000, (iii) £251,000 and £500,000, (iv) £500,000 and £750,000, (v) £751,000 and £1,000,000 and (vi) £1 million and £5 million and (b) turnover over £5 million in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies registered for VAT have an annual turnover (a) between (i) £85,000 and £125,000, (ii) £126,000 and £250,000, (iii) £251,000 and £500,000, (iv) £500,000 and £750,000, (v) £751,000 and £1,000,000 and (vi) £1 million and £5 million and (b) over £5 million in each the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The active VAT population by turnover band is published in Table 5a of the Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/value-added-tax-vat-annual-statistics Revenue received by HMRC by turnover band is not available. Liabilities by turnover band are published in the same publication in Table 5b.

Child Benefit

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) threshold on families with one working parent on a low to average income in the context of recent increases in the cost of living.

Lucy Frazer: The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January 2013 to ensure that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The tax charge applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims it, regardless of family make-up. The charge is tapered for taxpayers with incomes between £50,000 and £60,000. Where income is over £60,000, the amount of the charge is equal to the Child Benefit payments.HICBC is calculated on an individual rather than household basis, in line with other income tax policy.The Government set the HICBC thresholds at the current levels to help target Child Benefit in the way it considers most effective. As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps this under review as part of the annual Budget process. The Government recognises the challenge that many are facing with the cost of living. That is why we are providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. In addition, we are increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6 per cent to £9.50 an hour in April 2022, which will benefit more than 2 million workers.

Red Diesel

Mr Alistair Carmichael: If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of postponing the planned changes to red diesel regulations following the increases in fuel prices.

Helen Whately: To help meet Net Zero and improve UK air quality, we are reducing the entitlement to use red diesel, which enjoys a duty discount, to come into effect this April. The full duty rate more fairly reflects the damaging impact of diesel emissions and will incentivise the development of greener alternatives.

Credit: Low Incomes

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what forecast her Department has made of potential changes in the use of consumer credit by low-income families over the next 12 months.

John Glen: HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. However, it does not routinely forecast consumer credit usage, including use by low-income households. Retrospective analysis of trends in consumer credit product usage is produced by other organisations, including the Bank of England’s monthly statistical releases on money and credit and the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Surveys.

Energy Intensive Industries

James Wild: What fiscal steps he is taking to provide support to energy intensive industries.

Helen Whately: Energy-Intensive Industries receive extensive support from the government.Since 2013, we have provided over £2 billion to help them with the costs of electricity.We have additional funds in place to support such sectors cut their bills, including the £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.We also allocate free allowances to reduce the costs they pay under the emissions trading scheme, around £3bn per year based on recent prices.

Income Support: Cost of Living

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will implement a minimum income guarantee in the UK in the context of recent significant increases in the cost of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government recognises the pressures that some households are facing with the cost of living. That is why the Government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. This is in addition to the annual uprating of the rates of welfare benefits which will increase by 3.1% for 22/23. And, on 1st April 2022, in line with the Government’s target, we are increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over.  The Government continues to support a tax and benefit system that ensures italways pays to work, with the benefit system acting as a safety net for those families that need extra help. A flat rate income guarantee would not take into account the additional needs and costs faced by some individuals and therefore would not target taxpayer support where it is most needed.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that people in receipt of universal credit or legacy benefits will receive an additional uplift in the Spring Statement 2022 as a result of the recent increase in the cost of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: As part of the Government’s statutory annual review of benefits, Universal Credit and a number of other benefits will be uprated in line with September’s CPI of 3.1% in April. We are additionally providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 p.a. to make work pay. This change means that 1.9m households will on average keep around an extra £1,000 on an annual basis. We have frozen alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and provided a £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. On top of this, we are increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour in April 2022 which will benefit more than 2 million workers.

Energy Bills Rebate

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason local authorities are not able to make the £150 council tax rebate via residents' council tax bills rather than making a direct payment to council tax payers.

Mr Simon Clarke: In most cases the rebate will be delivered as a direct payment. This allows support to be provided up front rather than spread across the usual council tax instalments and means that households that don’t pay council tax are not disadvantaged. Councils can, however, offer the option of a credit to council tax accounts to non-direct debit holders as part of the claims process. This is intended to help speed up the claims process (and limit the administrative burden on local authorities), and in recognition that not all taxpayers will want to provide payment details where not already held.

Block Grant

Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress has been made towards the independent report on Block Grant Adjustments commissioned jointly by the Scottish and UK Governments as part of the Fiscal Framework Review.

Mr Simon Clarke: In February 2022, I met with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy to discuss preparations for the Fiscal Framework review. We agreed that both governments are close to finalising arrangements for the independent report, which we intend to launch as soon as possible. Further to this, we agreed that dialogue and joint preparations on the Fiscal Framework review should continue while the independent report is underway to avoid unnecessary delays.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to extend the Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme to (a) Ynys Môn constituency and (b) other rural parts of Wales.

Helen Whately: The Rural Fuel Duty Relief gives support to motorists by compensating fuel retailers in some rural areas with road fuel prices higher than the UK average.   In recognition of high prices at the pump and the fact that fuel represents a major cost for households and businesses, the Chancellor announced at the Autumn Budget 2021 that fuel duty would remain frozen for a twelfth consecutive year. This benefits consumers across the UK, and represents savings worth almost £8 billion over the next five years.  All taxes, including fuel duty, remain under review.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Belarus: Development Aid

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Figure 5, Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2020, how much UK Official Development Assistance did Belarus receive (a) in 2020-21 and (b) so far in 2021-22; how much of that assistance was spent on R&D; and whether any of that funding is yet to be disbursed.

James Cleverly: The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. UK bilateral ODA to ODA-eligible European countries is reported in Table A4d. In 2020, non-state and other non-government actors, who are working on behalf of the people of Belarus, received £1.5 million of UK bilateral ODA. None of this funding was classed as Research & Development.Figures for 2021 will be available in the Autumn when FCDO publishes "Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2021".

Iran: Nuclear Power

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) the US and (b) Iran on negotiations to restore Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action compliance.

James Cleverly: The Foreign Secretary met US Secretary of State Blinken on 9 March and discussed negotiations on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). They agreed on the urgency of concluding the deal in Vienna. The deal would provide a fair and comprehensive offer of US sanctions-lifting for the benefit of the Iranian people. In exchange, Iran would reverse its nuclear escalation, return its nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Foreign Secretary also underlined the urgency for concluding this deal in a recent call with Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, making clear that there would not be a better deal on offer.

Marie Stopes International

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to Marie Stopes International in the last five years for spending overseas (a) in total and (b) on the provision of abortion.

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to International Planned Parenthood Foundation over the last five years for spending overseas (a) in total and (b) on the provision of abortion.

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the last five years for spending overseas (a) in total and (b) on the provision of abortion.

Amanda Milling: From January 2016 to December 2020 FCDO allocated a total of £256 million to Marie Stopes International (MSI), and £96 million to International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF). Comparable figures beyond December 2020 are not yet available.A new standard methodology to capture donors' official development assistance spending on sexual and reproductive health and rights was developed by The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) in December 2020. Spending figures for 2016 are reported in the 2020 EPF donor delivery report (https://www.epfweb.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/DD_Report2020_webversion_new.pdf) and 2017 to 2019 spending figures are reported in the 2021 EPF donor delivery report (https://donorsdelivering.report/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DD_Report_2021.pdf). Comparable figures beyond December 2019 are not yet available.As FCDO takes an integrated approach to our programming on sexual and reproductive health and rights, it is not possible to give a specific figure for our funding for the provision of safe abortion services.

Yemen: Humanitarian Situation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Amanda Milling: The UK is a leading humanitarian donor in Yemen, contributing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began. The UK is spending £87 million in aid in Yemen this financial year, which feeds around 240,000 of the most vulnerable Yemenis every month, supports 400 healthcare clinics and provides clean water for 1.6 million people. A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the humanitarian suffering. The UK supports fully the efforts of the UN Special Envoy and urges the parties to engage constructively with UN-led efforts towards peace.

Ukraine: International Red Cross

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia on ensuring that the International Committee of the Red Cross can provide humanitarian support in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: In any armed conflict, it is vital that humanitarian agencies have safe and unimpeded access to affected populations. The Prime Minister discussed the importance of humanitarian access with President Zelenskyy on 9 March. I [Minister Cleverly] also stressed the importance of facilitating humanitarian access when I spoke with my Russian counterpart on 25 February.

Russia: Ukraine

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: Russia is failing to honour their obligations under international humanitarian law by reportedly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. We continue to call on Russia to uphold its obligation to fully respect international humanitarian law and human rights law. We will not spare any effort to ensure that violations of international law in Ukraine are investigated, that evidence is gathered and that the perpetrators are held accountable.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid can reach Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. We have also contributed £3.5 million to provide medical supplies to Ukraine. We have called on Russia to enable humanitarian access and safe passage for civilians to flee the violence. We are calling on the international community, allies, donors and multilateral humanitarian organisations, to speak as one and demand full humanitarian access at all times.

Russia and Ukraine: British Nationals Abroad

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that British citizens in Russia and Ukraine are able to make contact with UK authorities; and what assistance is being provided to British citizens in Russia and Ukraine who wish to leave those countries.

James Cleverly: British nationals still in Ukraine are encouraged to register their presence with the FCDO on the GOV.UK website so we can provide them with the latest information. We advise British nationals to leave Ukraine immediately if you judge it is safe to do so, and those who require consular assistance can call our 24 hour helpline or send any enquiries via the web contact form. Full, in person consular assistance is available in neighbouring countries. The 'Returning to the UK' section of our travel advice for Ukraine lists the main border crossing points for Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.All British nationals should continue to read and follow FCDO Travel Advice. If they are in Russia and their presence is not essential, we strongly advise them to consider leaving by remaining commercial routes, checking the latest information with the airline or travel provider. British nationals in need of consular assistance should call the British Embassy in Moscow, via the number on the GOV.UK website, and then select the option for consular assistance. Phone lines are answered 24 hours a day. There is also our returning to the UK page, for information on exiting Russia and onward travel to the UK, including information about leaving via the Baltic States using bus services to leave Russia.

Mozambique: Religious Freedom

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking in response to reports that in Mozambique girls are being forced to convert to Islam or become slaves.

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the treatment of women in captivity in Mozambique.

Vicky Ford: We are deeply concerned by the threat from extremist groups in north-eastern Mozambique, including the impact of the conflict on women and girls who are very vulnerable in this region. The UK is committed to working with the Government of Mozambique to tackle the insurgency and its underlying drivers. We work in partnership with key stakeholders, including local civil society organisations working in the North of Mozambique, ensuring that their work draws on recent analyses and assessments, including a report by the Observatory for Rural Environment from 2021 on the impact of the conflict on women and girls. The UK is also supporting implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in Mozambique, working with government, civil society, security actors and the private sector, in order to reduce the risk of abuses and promote respect for human rights.In addition to promoting girls' access to education in Mozambique through the UK's contribution to the Global Partnership for Education, the UK is addressing the challenges around child marriage in Mozambique through our support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Unicef Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which includes work to promote child protection in Cabo Delgado.

Russia: Sanctions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will include imports of coal from Russia in the list of sanctions against that country; and if she will make a statement.

James Cleverly: The Prime Minister has announced the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions Russia has ever seen. This has included sanctions on the export of high-tech and other goods critical to Russia's strategic interests. We continue to consider further import and export measures against Russia that will constrain Russia's ability to sustain its aggression against Ukraine. We are in regular dialogue with our partners on the measures that would have most impact.

Ukraine: Children

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the need for humanitarian support for displaced children in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.As of 8 March, 2 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine].

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in which financial years the £120m of humanitarian aid designated for Ukraine is scheduled to be delivered.

James Cleverly: The UK has now pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to support a well-coordinated and well-funded response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the region. We have already disbursed funding to humanitarian agencies in Ukraine this financial year as well as enabled the delivery of life-saving UK medical supplies; committed £25 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal, which has now raised over £130 million; and enabled the deployment of a 13-person field team of humanitarian experts to the region to provide logistics advice and analysis of the evolving refugee situation and needs. This analysis will inform further funding disbursements both within this financial year and next.

Islamic State: Females

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her Department's policy that Daesh (ISIS) crimes against Christian and Yazidi women constituted genocide.

Amanda Milling: The UK is committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide as appropriate under the Genocide Convention, to which the UK is party. It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. This policy does not inhibit the UK from taking robust action to address the egregious human rights abuses committed by Daesh.We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Yazidis, Christians and other minorities, as well as Muslim populations in Syria and Iraq. We note the conviction in a German court on 30 November 2021 of a former Daesh fighter for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We are following this case and its review closely. We will continue to use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Situation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine; and if she will make a statement.

James Cleverly: As of 8 March, 2 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine]. Russian aggression will have a massive human cost, causing death, displacement and destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The total UK aid to Ukraine and the region for the current crisis totals £395 million, including £220 million of humanitarian assistance. We are calling on other donors to step up and provide immediate support now and are encouraging international partners to speak as one demanding that all parties guarantee full humanitarian access and respect international humanitarian law.

Middle East: Christianity

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the Christian population of the Middle East.

Amanda Milling: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations. Multilaterally, we work with the UN, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, G7 and other fora to promote FoRB.In addition to our bilateral and multilateral action, we will host an international Ministerial conference on 5-6 July 2022, in London. The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on FoRB will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally.

Pakistan: Females

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help end abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of women and girls in Pakistan.

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make representations to her counterpart in Pakistan on ending abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of women and girls in that country.

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) case of Maira Shahbaz and (b) potential for safe resettlement for her in the UK.

James Cleverly: The UK condemns forced marriage and the forced conversion of women and girls. We regularly raise the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord Ahmad met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed the issue. He met interfaith leaders in order to better understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. The UK government has supported the Government of Pakistan in setting up eight child courts to provide child-sensitive justice to children who come in contact with the law, including victims of child abuse, trafficking and child marriage.

Mozambique: Radicalism

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is providing support to the Government of Mozambique to fight the Islamist insurgency in that country.

Vicky Ford: The UK has taken a leading role in Mozambique as co-chair of the international taskforce on the insurgency in Cabo Delgado. This taskforce is a forum for high-level dialogue and coordination between the Mozambique Government and its international partners in response to the insurgency. Bilaterally, the UK signed a Defence MOU with the Government of Mozambique in May 2019, and we continue to work in partnership to address security issues of mutual interest. UK Aid has also provided over £22 million in humanitarian support in Cabo Delgado, primarily through UN agencies, ensuring that people displaced by the crisis have access to food, water, shelter and basic health. We welcome recent progress by Mozambican defence and security forces, with support from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda, to take back areas previously under insurgent control, and will continue to work with the Government of Mozambique to build long term peace and stability.

Egypt: Copts

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support is being provided to Coptic Christian women in Egypt who are the victims of abduction, forced conversion and marriage.

Vicky Ford: The Government of Egypt has stated its commitment to protecting the rights of Coptic Christians and freedom of worship. We are encouraged by positive steps in recent years, including President Sisi's public commitments, to uphold the rights of minorities and freedom of worship. The UK Government is providing support to an Egyptian Government initiative to raise awareness of a number of social issues, including religious diversity and forced marriage. The Prime Minister and President Sisi have discussed the importance of protecting freedom of religion and belief, most recently during their meeting in Glasgow on 1 November. Lord Ahmad discussed freedom of religion and belief with Egypt's Ambassador to the UK in March 2022 and we will continue to raise these important issues.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has held discussions with the Afghan government on negotiating routes of safe passage out of that country for vulnerable Afghans.

James Cleverly: We continue to work including with international partners to relocate British nationals and eligible Afghans through third countries. We also provide as much information as we can through our Travel Advice. We have supported over 3,700 individuals to leave Afghanistan since the end of Operation PITTING. This includes over 1,200 British nationals and eligible dependants. Safe passage continues to be a priority in our engagement on Afghanistan, including with Taliban representatives.

Ukraine: Refugees

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ease customs red tape and reduce paperwork requirements for people trying to deliver aid to Ukrainian refugees in EU countries.

James Cleverly: The UK Government advises people to donate cash through trusted charities and humanitarian partners, rather than donating goods. Unsolicited donations, although well-meaning, can obstruct supply chains and delay more urgent support from getting through. Trusted humanitarian partners are working with the Government of Ukraine and countries in the region to assess needs and deliver the assistance most required. It is usually more efficient for aid organisations to procure required items themselves, and locally, than to process, store, and distribute donated goods.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ease customs red tape and reduce paperwork requirements for people trying to deliver aid to Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK Government advises people to donate cash through trusted charities and humanitarian partners, rather than donating goods. Unsolicited donations, although well-meaning, can obstruct supply chains and delay more urgent support from getting through. Trusted humanitarian partners are working with the Government of Ukraine and countries in the region to assess needs and deliver the assistance most required. It is usually more efficient for aid organisations to procure required items themselves, and locally, than to process, store, and distribute donated goods.

Ukraine: Children

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to assist with the provision of education and psychosocial support for Ukrainian children who have been displaced.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £100 million, with the government matching £25 million of the publics donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.

Ukraine: Children

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure provision of essentials like (a) water, (b) food and (c) healthcare to Ukrainian children who have been displaced.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. This funding will help aid agencies respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation by providing access to basic necessities and medical supplies UK Government humanitarian experts have also deployed to the region to support those fleeing the violence in Ukraine.The UK has matched pound for pound the public's first £25 million for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which has now surpassed £100 million. Donating will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.

Pakistan: Females

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help end (a) abductions, (b) forced conversions and (c) forced marriages of women and girls in Pakistan.

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle religious forced (a) marriages and (b) conversions around the world.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We work with international partners including the UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In May 2021, we ensured that FoRB was included in the G7 communiqué for the first time. This year, our Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, will Chair the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to bolster joint international action on FoRB and on 5-6 July 2022, we will host an international Ministerial conference on FoRB. In 2020 and 2021, we continued to protect language on tackling the harmful practice of Child, Early and Forced Marriage by helping secure the adoption by consensus of relevant resolutions at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

Development Aid

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when Official Development Assistance allocations by country for 2022-23 will be announced.

James Cleverly: ODA allocations will be published in the FCDO's annual report in due course.

Ukraine: Children

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to assist with the provision of (a) education and (b) psychosocial support for Ukrainian children who have been displaced.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £100 million, with the government matching £25 million of the publics donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.

Anguilla: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to aid the recovery of Anguilla following Hurricane Irma.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of Hurricane Irma in 2020 on the education sector in Anguilla.

Amanda Milling: The UK Government has provided almost £100 million in grant funding to support the Government of Anguilla in rebuilding its critical national infrastructure following the devastation of Hurricane Irma. The majority of this support has focused on infrastructure recovery and resilience, this includes the building of a new ferry passenger facility, a larger jetty for shipping, a new secondary school and three primary schools, and the major refurbishment of two more primary schools. The new school buildings are all hurricane resilient structures, most are completed and in use. The Government of Anguilla is constitutionally responsible for education. Hurricane Irma severely impacted the education system and required the implementation of a shift system at secondary level. In assessing the impact of Hurricane Irma on education standards, the Anguilla Department of Education has undertaken assessments at both primary and secondary level, including cooperation with UNICEF. The full impact on learning outcomes and the resulting learning loss will require continued in-depth assessment. The UK Government remains committed to supporting Anguilla's continued economic recovery and resilience, including within the education sector.

British Overseas Territories: Passenger Ships

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to help the cruise industry in the British Overseas Territory recover following the covid-19 pandemic.

Amanda Milling: The UK Government has provided extensive support to the Overseas Territories since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the provision of medical supplies and vaccines, expert advice through the UK Health Services Agency to support the safe reopening of their borders, and emergency financial aid to the most vulnerable Overseas Territories. Decisions directly relating to the cruise industry in the Overseas Territories is a devolved matter. However, UK support has recognised the particular vulnerabilities faced by small, tourism dependent economies, and several Territories have made an impressive recovery as their tourism sectors gradually reopened.

Uyghurs: Forced Labour

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2022 to Question 128268 on Uyghurs: Forced Labour, what assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) accessibility of the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen complaints mechanism for Uyghur people in forced labour registering complaints.

Amanda Milling: The Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is an independent complaints mechanism for people who believe they are affected by International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects. CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of Projects and Sub-Projects, and also carries out reviews of IFC compliance with its environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions where needed. Complaints are submitted in writing, may be presented in any language, and can be submitted electronically. CAO will maintain confidentiality upon receiving a complaint if requested to do so by the complainant. The UK has confidence in the CAO, and has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: HIV Infection

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are roles in the armed forces that are not open to people who use HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

Leo Docherty: Current policy is that PrEP cannot be used by Aircrew and Air Traffic Controllers, but it can be permitted on an individual basis. The policy is being updated to remove the restriction and this will be published in August 2022.

Falkland Islands: Veterans

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in the context of the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands, what plans his Department has to celebrate veterans of the Falklands War.

Leo Docherty: Our veterans' contribution to the Armed Forces, and to society at large, is of enormous value and deserves the recognition it is given. Veterans of the Falklands conflict have rightly earned, and deserve, the support not just of this Government, but the country as a whole.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working closely with partners to ensure that commemorative events for veterans and the bereaved are supported in the most appropriate way, both across the United Kingdom and in the Falkland Islands.The MOD is supporting a Royal British Legion Falklands 40th anniversary event at the National Memorial Arboretum on 14 June 2022. The event will be for veterans, civilian enablers to the deployment, families of the bereaved, and VIPs, though members of the public will be welcome. The all-day event will come together with a service of remembrance followed by a reception.

Defence: Medals

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing a national defence medal.

Leo Docherty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey) on 19 March 2020 to Question 30067 to the hon. Member for Broadland (Mr Jerome Mayhew).Military Decorations (docx, 15.4KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment: Young People

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of long-term youth unemployment in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what (i) financial and (ii) other steps she is taking to tackle long-term youth unemployment in those areas.

Mims Davies: The sample size of the Annual Population Survey is too small to provide robust estimates of the trends in long-term youth unemployed in the areas identified. DWP offers significant support to unemployed people across Coventry to access employment opportunities through our network of Jobcentres. Our Work Coaches provide support on finding a job, help with retraining or skills advice, CV, job applications and access to the new vacancies, as well as signposting to our Jobhelp website. The Youth Hub in Coventry continues to provide outreach support, which can be accessed by young people in Coventry at Coventry Jobshop in the City Centre. We have also partnered with employers in the Coventry area to deliver Sector Based Work Academy Programmes open to all age groups and length of unemployment. For longer term support we work with many local training providers and the Coventry City Council Jobshop to fill ‘Building Better Opportunities’ programmes for the longer term unemployed and those further from the labour market. DWP is also currently working with West Midland Combined Authority to promote and fill Commonwealth Games 2022 opportunities, matching young people to employers linked to hospitality, security, customer service and the sports industry across the local area. The Kickstart Scheme provided grant funded, six-month jobs with participating employers for 16-24 year olds on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. As of the 31st January 2022, in Great Britain over 130,000 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people and over 235,000 jobs have been made available for young people to apply to through the scheme. More recent statistics will be published in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions: Training

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of her Department's staff, who work with black women and girls affected by domestic abuse, have received specialist cultural training.

Guy Opperman: All DWP staff in customer facing roles undertake comprehensive learning to support customers affected by domestic abuse. All learning provides staff with the knowledge and skills to treat each claimant as an individual.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of increased costs of heating oil on levels of poverty in (a) Arfon constituency, (b) Wales, (c) England, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland.

David Rutley: No specific assessment has been made with regards to heating oil.The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.

Citizens Advice: Finance

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Citizens Advice Bureau is adequately funded so people around the UK can access advice about the cost of living.

David Rutley: Citizens Advice is funded by various Government departments, public bodies, private companies, local authorities as well as charitable trusts. Details regarding their sources of funding can be found on their website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/annual-reports/.

Supported Housing: North East

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exempt accommodation premises there are in (a) Stockton, (b) Darlington, (c) Middlesbrough, (d) Redcar and (e) Hartlepool.

David Rutley: Providing the requested information would incur disproportionate costs to the Department.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pollinator Advisory Steering Group

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when a Minister from his Department last attend a Pollinator Advisory Steering Group meeting.

Rebecca Pow: The Pollinator Advisory Steering Group is intended to be a working level meeting between officials and partners in stakeholder organisations. As such, Ministers are generally not invited to join their meetings, and so attendance by a Minister would be by exception.The last time a Defra Minister attended the Pollinator Advisory Steering Group meeting was on 9 May 2016.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he intends to respond to the enquiry of the hon Member for High Peak, dated 17 December 2021, reference RL31913.

Jo Churchill: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 8 March 2022. I apologise for the delay in replying. Defra is currently dealing with high volumes of correspondence.

Air Pollution

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK is on course to meet the World Health Organisation targets for air pollution by 2030.

Jo Churchill: Annual assessment of air quality (AQ) in the UK is undertaken as part of compliance assessment against legally binding UK AQ standards and details of these assessments are published on our UK Air website. Compliance in 2020 was detailed in the Air Pollution in the UK report (2020) published in September 2021 (available here: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/). We will consider the World Health Organization AQ guidelines as part of an evidence led process in setting any new AQ targets, including the new PM2.5 targets through the Environment Act 2021.

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he will publish the 17th UK Informative Inventory Report (1990 to 2020).

Jo Churchill: The 1990 to 2020 Informative Inventory Report will be published on 15 March 2022.

Plants: Genetically Modified Organisms

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on enabling gene editing in plant breeding.

Jo Churchill: We are taking a cautious and proportionate stepwise approach, based on science, to enable gene editing in plant breeding. On 20 January 2022 Defra laid a Statutory Instrument to simplify the process for plant research in England using new genetic technologies if the resulting plants could have occurred naturally or been produced through traditional breeding methods. This first step in our approach aims to help to free up plant research to enable scientists to develop the knowledge base and drive innovation in farming. As part of our next step we will consider the appropriate measures needed to enable gene edited plants and plant products to be brought to market.

Ammonia: Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much in tonnes (a) herd sizes and (b) farming practices each contributed to the UK primary emissions of ammonia (NH3) in 2020.

Jo Churchill: Ammonia emission data for 2020 were published on 18 February (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants/emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-the-uk-ammonia-nh3).

Agriculture: Government Assistance

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support farmers with the rising cost of (a) red diesel and (b) other input costs as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Victoria Prentis: We are very much aware of the disruption to supply chains that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will have both globally and here in the UK and are closely monitoring the market situation. The UK food chain is very robust and adaptable. Our initial assessment is the principal impact on UK farmers will be an increase in the cost of a range of inputs including red diesel, animal feed, fertiliser, and energy. We are working with the industry to identify where mitigations are available and continue to keep the situation under review.

Pollinator Advisory Steering Group

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Pollinator Advisory Steering Group (a) last met formally and (b) will meet next.

Rebecca Pow: The Pollinator Advisory Steering Group last met formally on Friday 19 November 2021. The date for the next quarterly meeting is not fixed yet, but we have been working closely with members of the group during the development of the Pollinator Action Plan for 2021 to 2024, which will be published soon.

Home Office

Visas: Ukraine

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas her Department has issued under the Ukraine Family Visa scheme as of 7 March 2022.

Kevin Foster: Information on the number of applications issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Ukraine

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specific discussions she has had with her French counterpart on steps taken by the UK Government to support refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Training

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers, who work with black women and girls affected by domestic abuse, have received specialist cultural training.

Rachel Maclean: We do not hold this information centrally.This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the support they need, including those from Black backgrounds. We know that domestic abuse affects a wide and disparate group and that a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate to support all victims, especially those with specific needs and vulnerabilities, including ethnic minority victims.The College of Policing’s foundation training for those entering the service includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding, including the effects of personal conscious and unconscious bias. Further training is provided in specialist areas throughout an officer’s career. For example, training for those involved in public protection includes methods to raise officers’ self-awareness of their own views, stereotypes and biases.In addition, the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on domestic abuse sets out that victims may have specific needs or issues relating to their cultural background or immigration status which should be considered when understanding risk and vulnerability of the victim. The Government continues to encourage forces to take up the College of Policing’s Domestic Abuse Matters training, which includes specific training on understanding victims, including on ‘honour’-based abuse which disproportionately affects members of ethnic minority communities.The new full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), DCC Maggie Blyth, has included building trust and confidence as a key pillar of the Policing VAWG National Framework for delivery. This includes working with charities supporting black and minoritized women and girls to avoid their specific needs being overlooked.The Home Office provides funding to a number of organisations that support ethnic minority victims. The Home Office provided £150,000 to the Karma Nirvana helpline in 2020/21, and an additional £85,682 was provided to boost their services during the Covid pandemic. Additionally, the charity Southall Black Sisters was provided with £80,951 of funding during the Covid pandemic and £1.5m in 2020/21 for the pilot Support for Migrant Victims Scheme. In 2021/22 the Ministry of Justice has also provided £2 million for specialist ‘by and for’ victim support organisations who support ethnic minority, LGBTQ+ and disabled victims.Furthermore, as committed in the cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy published on 21 July last year, the Home Office has provided an additional £1.5 million funding this year for ‘by and for’ service provision and to further increase funding for valuable specialist services for victims of violence against women and girls.

Visas: Ukraine

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when guidance will be available for people already in the UK who need to apply to the Ukraine Family Scheme as of 10 March 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Ukraine

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance on the Ukraine Family Scheme updated on 9 March 2022, whether applicants to the Ukraine Family Scheme who followed the guidance in place at the time of their application prior to 9 March will need to complete a further application before their case is considered by her Department.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that refugees from Afghanistan are also provided housing opportunities while resettling Ukrainian refugees.

Kevin Foster: The UK Government undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan. Over 4000 Afghans have already moved, or are in the process of being moved, into their permanent homes.We are working at pace across government and with over three hundred Local Authority partners to move Afghan evacuees into permanent homes as soon as possible so they can settle and rebuild their lives.We have set up a bespoke local engagement team within The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC), with named points of contact for each region across the country, to support local authorities to come forward with offers of accommodation. DLUHC have also set up an online housing portal to allow people to submit offers of housing support for people who have arrived from Afghanistan. Alongside our engagement with local authorities, we are reaching out to landlords, developers and the wider private rented sector to encourage further offers of properties, either directly to Local Authorities or through our Housing portal.We will continue to review the impact of any additional support offered to Ukrainian nationals and are committed to the ongoing relocation of the evacuees from Afghanistan.

Refugees: Resettlement

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to introduce a longer-term global resettlement programme for refugees who wish to come to the UK.

Kevin Foster: The UK has a long history of supporting refugees in need of protection. The UK continues to welcome vulnerable people through the existing global UK Resettlement Scheme, Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship Scheme and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.Since 2015, we have resettled more than 27,000 refugees through safe and legal routes direct from regions of conflict and instability; around half of whom were children.In response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Home Office made several changes to the immigration system, including launching the Ukraine Family Scheme.In addition, we are establishing a humanitarian sponsorship pathway, led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whereby Ukrainians who may not have family ties in the UK can be sponsored to come to the UK by willing and able individuals, businesses, or community organisations. There will be no numerical limit on this scheme, and we will welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come and have matched sponsors.Resettlement is only one strand of our international efforts helping refugees. It is complemented by the UK’s significant humanitarian aid programme and diplomatic efforts. We believe this approach is the best way to ensure the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees.More information on existing resettlement schemes can be found in the published guidance Resettlement: policy guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Visas

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish the review of historic applications under the Tier 1 (Investor) route by the end of March 2022.

Kevin Foster: As the Home Secretary set out in her Written Statement of 21 February, the review is being finalised and it is our aim to publish it shortly.

Visas: Ukraine

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether applicants for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa can upload supporting documents in JPG/JPEG and PNG formats.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office is only able to accept PDFs via its commercial partner document solution when a customer upload documents via a desktop browser. However, JPG/JPEGs are accepted when a customer uploads a document through a mobile device.

Refugees: Ukraine

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average amount of time it takes for her Department to process asylum applications from Ukrainian refugees.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not publish data relating to the length of time it takes to process asylum applications from Ukrainian refugees, as this data is not held in a reportable format and can only be updated at disproportionate costs.

Visas: Ukraine

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an applicant to the Ukraine family scheme who does not have a visa will be permitted travel to the United Kingdom without incurring carrier liability fees.

Kevin Foster: Those eligible for the Ukraine family scheme should ensure they obtain the correct permission to come to the UK. Those eligible for the scheme who hold a valid Ukrainian Passport no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre and can apply online, they will be able to give their biometrics once they have arrived in the UK.Carriers’ liability legislation will apply as normal and guidance for carriers on discharging their obligations will be updated as necessary.

Visas: Ukraine

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to oral contribution of 10 March 2022, if all outstanding visa applications from Ukrainian applicants seeking to join family in the United Kingdom will fall under the new scheme.

Kevin Foster: As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House on 1 March, a fee free, bespoke Ukraine Family Scheme has been introduced. The route allows both immediate family (spouse, civil partner, durable partner, minor children) and extended family (parent, grandparent, adult children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in laws and their immediate family) to join qualifying family members in the UK. This route was launched on 4 March.If an applicant has applied on another application form or under a different visa route and the decision maker feels the applicant would qualify under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the decision maker will write to the applicant and offer them the opportunity to be considered under the Scheme. The decision maker will consider the application on the evidence already provided unless there is insufficient information to make a decision. This will ensure an application can be assessed under the Ukraine Family Scheme without the need for a further application.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens have successfully reached the UK since the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme was launched on 6 January 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme opened on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.There are around 6,500 people in the UK who have been brought to safety during and after the evacuation who are eligible for the ACRS through pathway 1. Eligible people who were called forward during the evacuation, but were not able to board flights, will also be eligible for the ACRS through this pathway.Due to the success of our emergency evacuation and the larger than anticipated number of people brought over to the UK, we plan to exceed our initial aim of 5,000 people in the first year of the ACRS.

Visas: Ukraine

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral response of 10 March 2022 to the Urgent Question on refugees from Ukraine, whether Ukrainian nationals applying to the family visa scheme will be required to have more than six months' validity remaining on their passports.

Kevin Foster: Ukrainian nationals applying under the Ukraine Family Scheme are not required to have more than six months left on their passport.

Asylum

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend paragraph 339Q of the Immigration Rules, and the associated guidance, to maintain the option to apply for humanitarian protection following the revocation of The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 under the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Tom Pursglove: In February this year during the Committee Stage of the Nationality and Borders Bill in the House of Lords, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar QC confirmed the Government’s intention to reform the humanitarian protection route in the UK as part of the Government’s New Plan for Immigration.Clause 29 of the Nationality and Borders Bill revokes the Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006. Those are the regulations through which we transposed our obligations under the EU Qualification Directive 2004. This has created an opportunity for us to consider the operation of the route. The reformed humanitarian protection route will reflect our current international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 2 and Article 3, which the Government is committed to upholding. The entitlements afforded to recipients of humanitarian protection will also be amended to reflect changes being made elsewhere in the asylum system.The relevant Immigration Rules and policy guidance will be updated to reflect the changes later this year.

Julian Assange

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she or her officials have had discussions with their counterparts in the US Administration on reported attempts to assassinate Julian Assange.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office have not had any such discussions with the US Administration.

Crimes of Violence: Crime Prevention

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which of the 43 police forces in England and Wales use the Cardiff Model data to identify and target serious violence hotspots.

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of the 322 Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales (a) access and (b) share Cardiff Model data for preventing serious violence.

Kit Malthouse: Tackling violent crime is a top priority and this government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.This is why we have invested £105.5m from 2019-2022 into the development of our Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) programme, which operates in the 18 police force areas worst affected by serious violence.We know that information sharing is key to identifying and supporting young people at risk of violence. VRUs combine the collective expertise of local agency partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them. This includes the proactive sharing of data between health and other partners, emulating the Cardiff Model. The Home Office closely monitors VRUs’ progress across key priorities, including effective sharing data sharing between partners. As per the published 2019/20 VRU Evaluation, all 18 areas have made good progress in generating and sharing data across numerous partners to inform their direction of travel.The 2018 Serious Violence Strategy for England and Wales consolidates the expectation that, in line with the Cardiff Model for violence prevention, Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) work with local hospitals to implement the sharing of appropriate health data to tackle serious violence. Information standard ISB1594, which applies to all Accident and Emergency departments, sets out the details of the minimum dataset to be provided. At this time, data on the percentage of CSPs using this model is not held centrally.More widely, we are introducing the Serious Violence Duty through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will require authorities to work collaboratively and share data and information to prevent and reduce serious violence within their local communities.

Metropolitan Police Service: Vetting

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the vetting process of police officer applicants in the Metropolitan Police Service.

Kit Malthouse: Police vetting is carried out independently by forces who are required to follow the statutory code of practice on vetting issued by the College of Policing. This is further supported by the College’s vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance, which is reviewed regularly.The Government does recognise public concern around police vetting which is why the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) to carry out an urgent thematic inspection of vetting and counter-corruption procedures in policing across England and Wales. Separately, the Inspectorate were also commissioned to carry out a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) specific inspection following the findings from the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel (DMIP) report.The Home Secretary also announced a two-part inquiry, to be chaired by Dame Elish Angiolini, which will be able to look at the conduct and career of the officer who murdered Sarah Everard as well as any wider issues across policing, including workplace behaviour and culture.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Second Homes: Council Tax

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the (a) economic and (b) social impact of changes to council tax which may be levied on second homes in Wales from April 2023.

Kemi Badenoch: Council tax is a devolved matter and it will be for the Welsh Government to decide whether to carry out any monitoring of any legislation introduced in Wales.

Second Homes: Council Tax

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing powers to local authorities to levy increased council tax premiums on second homes.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government keeps all tax policy under review. It has already removed the requirement for local authorities to offer a discount on second homes enabling them to charge the full rate of council tax and, in April 2016, introduced a 3 per cent higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax for those purchasing additional properties.

Housing: Older People

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the cross-department taskforce on older people's housing will be formed.

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress he has made on forming the cross-departmental taskforce on older people's housing.

Stuart Andrew: As announced in the Levelling Up White Paper, a new taskforce on older people's housing will be launched shortly, looking at ways we can provide greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people. This work will be taken forward in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.Further details regarding the remit of the taskforce, as well as the timing and frequency of meetings will be confirmed in due course.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will enable the placement of Ukrainian refugees with UK families.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to help encourage second home owners to make their properties available for use by refugees.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funding will be provided by central Government to support (a) organisations, (b) local authorities and (c) others who offer assistance to Ukrainian refugees via the humanitarian sponsorship route.

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the new sponsorship scheme for Ukrainians without family ties to the UK will open.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State's statement to Parliament of 14 March 2022.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Committees

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department chairs the (a) Covid-19 (Operations) Committee, (b) Domestic and Economic (Operations) Committee and (c) Afghanistan Resettlement Committee.

Michael Ellis: GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, membership and who chairs each Committee.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2022 to Question 129816, which Minister chairs the Illegal Migration Taskforce.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Rt hon member to my answer given to PQ 135517 on 10 March.

Department for International Trade

World Trade Organisation: Belarus

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making representations at the World Trade Organisation for a vote on the suspension of Belarus from that organisation in respect of its continuing material support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Penny Mordaunt: Belarus is not a member of the World Trade Organization. Accession talks were suspended following the rigged election and fraudulent inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko in 2020. Belarussian complicity in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is incompatible with the respect for the rules-based order that is a precondition for WTO membership. This issue has been discussed with partners within the WTO.

UK Export Finance: Russia

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the (a) legal and (b) financial implications if an individual or company in the Russian Federation with outstanding debts guaranteed under UK Export Finance's buyer credit or supplier credit financing schemes is placed under sanctions by the (i) United Kingdom, (ii) European Union or (ii) United States.

Mike Freer: UK Export Finance (UKEF) is keeping the current situation under close review.UKEF follows rigorous recovery processes, but is not able to disclose further detail as doing so may compromise our commercial position. UKEF has recovered the cost of every claim against it since 1991 on a portfolio basis and has returned just over £2 billion to the Treasury.

Exports: Russia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to encourage British and international companies that are exporting to Russia to stop their trade in that country.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she is taking steps to encourage a global boycott of trading with Russia.

Mike Freer: Alongside allies across the world, the UK has executed the biggest package of sanctions ever imposed against a G20 nation. The UK has sanctioned well over 200 high-value individuals, entities, and subsidiaries to help cripple Putin’s war machine. On top of this, and in full concert with the United States, the EU and other partners, the UK has introduced new, stringent trade restrictions, including a plan to phase out the import of Russian oil products during the course of the year. We will continue to consider, and to coordinate with partners on, further potential trade measures.

Trade Agreements: Japan

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 175773, if she will publish the list of 39 UK products among the 77 provided to the Japanese authorities on 30 April 2021 that are not currently going through Japan's procedures for the designation of geographical indications; and what estimate she has made of when those 39 products will start going through those procedures.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement already protects 7 UK geographical indications (GIs) in Japan, and provides scope to submit more for approval. On 30 April 2021, the UK submitted a list of 77 UK GIs to Japan. There were 84 GIs registered in the UK at the time. A full list of UK GIs registered domestically is available here: https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names. We agreed with Japan that all 77 GIs will undergo procedures in Japan as soon as possible. Due to the large number of GIs, Japan requested they be split into two batches to facilitate the necessary domestic procedures in Japan.

Trade Agreements: New Zealand

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, on which day and at what time her Department shared (a) the whole UK-New Zealand free trade agreement, (b) elements of the UK-New Zealand free trade agreement and (c) a press release announcing that that agreement was to be signed with (i) media representatives, (ii) the Trade and Agriculture Commission and (iii) any of the Trade Advisory Groups or members.

Penny Mordaunt: Chapter text for the UK-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) was shared in instalments with Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs) and the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) from 24 January 2022. Press releases were sent under embargo to media representatives and TAGs – but not to the TAC – at 09:46 and 10:47 respectively on 28 February. No elements of the FTA text were shared with media representatives before publication. Letters were sent to all Members of Parliament and Peers to inform them of the FTA on the day of signature.

Department for International Trade: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has an annual budget of £7.5m for the employment of Communication and Marketing staff in 2021/22.

Shipping: Russia

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, for what reason Russian Federation cargo has not been sanctioned following the implementation of sanctions on Russian Federation vessels as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

Mike Freer: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions Russia has ever seen. The UK Government has banned all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from entering British ports. Ships carrying cargo from Russia are not within the scope of these specific transport sanctions. However, we continue to consider further trade measures to support our policy of ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia. We already prohibit the export of a range of goods critical to Russia's strategic economy and have severely limited Putin's access to finance. Nothing is off the table until Putin reverses his illegal invasion of Ukraine, stops undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and abides by international law.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Charity Commission: Public Appointments

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of any potential conflicts of interest arising from the Government’s decision to appoint Orlando Fraser as preferred candidate for the role of Chair of the Charity Commission.

Nigel Huddleston: This process to appoint the Chair of the Charity Commission was run in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. As part of the application process (and as per the Governance Code), all candidates are required to complete a conflict of interest form which must be discussed with the candidate at interview. There were no conflicts of interest identified that would preclude Orlando from taking up post as Chair of the Charity Commission.

Charity Commission: Public Appointments

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she interviewed the Government’s preferred candidate, Orlando Fraser, for the role of Chair of the Charity Commission.

Nigel Huddleston: As per the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code for Public Appointments, Ministers should be assisted in their decision making by Advisory Assessment Panels. All shortlisted candidates were interviewed by the Advisory Assessment Panel which included a departmental official and Senior Independent Panel Member. In line with the Governance Code, the names of all appointable candidates were then submitted to Ministers.

Women and Equalities

Conversion Therapy

Simon Jupp: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department plans to give guidance to providers of adult talking conversion therapies in religious contexts in order to accurately communicate the harm and risks associated with conversion therapy.

Mike Freer: The Government’s consultation on our proposals to ban conversion therapy closed on 4 February. Analysis of the responses will be used to further refine our proposals and inform the process of developing legislation for Spring, to be introduced when Parliamentary time allows. Once legislation is passed, Government will work with the relevant parties in the usual way to ensure it is clear how to comply with the law.